Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Starring: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin McNally, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Golshifteh Farahani
Directed by: Joachim Ronning, Espen Sandberg
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
2017

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) must find the trident of Poseidon before a vengeful captain (Javier Bardem) tracks him down.

Review:

Tim: I've been pretty down on this series since the lackluster On Stranger Tides, so I can't say I was especially excited about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Sure, I was glad to see Captain Jack Sparrow once again, but I didn't have the highest hopes for the film. With this movie, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news is that this is a good film and a marked improvement over the last film. Any time you get a fifth film that's better than the fourth, that's a very good thing. The bad news is that although this is a good movie, it's still far below the original trilogy. Instead of seeming fun and exciting and a return to form, it felt like yet another movie in a franchise that's been seeing diminished returns.

What I liked most about this film is that it worked hard to connect to the events of the original film. Although in small roles, it was wonderful to see Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley reprise their roles. I enjoyed how this film focused on their son, played well by Brenton Thwaites (whom I usually enjoy, and did here). The story was a solid one. It still featured a nice blend of pirate action and supernatural elements, but it felt like a worthwhile story to tell (the last film didn't get here). I had fun with these characters and watching the continued story develop.

Another big plus here is that Jack Sparrow felt like he was slightly more of a supporting character. That's so important to these films. Although Johnny Depp gets top billing, Sparrow works best in smaller, strategic doses. One of the biggest complaints of this franchise is that after the first movie, Sparrow's role became bigger and bigger, and the movies got worse and worse. The low point was On Stranger Tides, which truly felt like a Sparrow movie (which simply does not work). In this film, Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario played big enough roles and took up enough screen time to limit Sparrow's involvement. This makes the scenes with him significantly more impactful. It also felt like Depp toned down his performance just a bit here. In some of the previous films, it felt like directors gave him free reign to do whatever he wanted and it hurt the character and it hurt those films. Sparrow obviously needs to be a bit loony, but his character needs some restraint as well.

One of the big downsides is that these movies are all feeling so similar. In this one, there's a supernatural captain who has some kind of dark powers and is mad at Jack Sparrow. It felt like a path we've walked numerous times before. While Javier Bardem was decent as the antagonist (and he wasn't a pirate, to be fair), it still felt like the franchise was going back to the same well yet again. Maybe it's a natural limit to this story and this world, but it just felt like all the other movies in the franchise. There wasn't nearly enough to differentiate it. There's a magical mcguffin, etc. We once again get Barbossa (as much as I like Geoffrey Rush, the franchise needs to move on from him), although his integration into the story was a valid one, so I didn't mind his presence as much. I enjoyed his role in the story.

It felt like this movie played it a bit too safe. I also can't think of a truly epic action sequence. The opening scene with the pirates inadvertently stealing an entire building was kind of cool, but it ultimately felt a bit too outlandish. It was a great attempt to capture some of the magic of the original film, but it just fell shy. The visuals were fine, but it felt like the movie relied too heavily on visual effects. There wasn't a jaw-dropping moment like with the Kraken in Dead Man's Chest. They were fine, but forgettable.

I'm trying to be positive about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. It's certainly better than the last film and I'd consider it a solidly good movie. However, this franchise started with such enormous potential, it's discouraging to think that maybe films like this are all that's left. I enjoyed the movie, but I certainly wouldn't be sad if this was the final film in the franchise.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides