Review of 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'

5th film in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series

dead_men_tell_no_tales.jpg This fifth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean introduces us to Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), a hunter of pirates, who persues a younger Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). Sparrow tricks Salazar into entering the mysterious Devil's Triangle. Unable to escape he is freed when Sparrow gets rid of his compass. Salazar wastes little time in renewing his rampage against not only pirates but anything afloat though he is particularly keen on Sparrow…Jack's only hope is to find Poseidon's Trident which would give him power over all of the seas and Salazar. He is aided by the incredibly knowledgeable young woman Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario).

The story is fairly interesting and unusual but this really does feel like we have seen a lot of this before. The jokes are as corny as ever, the action scenes are as impressive (and ludicrous) as ever and the special effects are incredible…but there is nothing really new brought to the table. It is all getting a bit grating and feels like this is just a money-making machine gone amok. They are certainly increasing the scale of the action and quality of the effects but after a while it just get tedious. How often do we need to see close-ups from yet another battle at sea? Oh look, more supernatural pirates…(yawn)

Followers of the series will be relieved to find certain plot points from previous movies resolved. Geoffrey Rush also makes a welcome return as Captain Barbossa, somewhat mellowed from when we first met him (how many movies ago?) with acres more personality and depth than Depp's Sparrow.

Yeah, it is a bit of fun but after all the ships have been destroyed, the jokes and have been told, and the credits come it is hard to remember anything much that happened. I have to admit, it was enjoyable but it is only a shadow of the enjoyment I had from the first film where this was all fresh and new.

Rating: “A bit better than average”

Review Date: 2017-09-21


Directed by: Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg

Studio: Walt Disney Pictures

Year: 2017

Length: 149 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790809/


Other reviewed films in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series: