Review: Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales

I don't know that very many of us were clamoring for another Pirates of the Caribbean film. After all, the last outing six years ago, On Stranger Tides, was not exactly memorable. Now we get Dead Men Tell No Tales, arguably the zippiest film in the series. 

Better pacing certainly helps as I have always felt the bloat of length in this franchise but it doesn't solve all the problems either. The main issue here is familiarity. There are only so many things that Cap'n Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has to go search for until we stop caring about the mcguffin or plot or any of the details and just hope for some fun set pieces. Seeming to understand this is directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg who keep the film on course and avoid the self-indulgent tendencies of Gore Verbinski, the series most regular director. 

Dead Men Tell No Tales also wisely restores the balance of characters. We get a new Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) in his son Henry (Brenton Thwaites) and a new Elizabeth Swan (Kiera Knightley) in the plucky horologist Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario). This keeps the focus shifting between two straight men and the antics of Sparrow and helps root the story in more than just bumbling swashbucklers. The quest here concerns a curse on Will that Henry seeks to break by finding the Trident of Poseiden. He enlists Sparrow to help find it. Jack has just inadvertently released a ghost shop commanded by the evil Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem).  Salazar wants to kill Jack and thus the chase is on. Along the way the film picks up Barbossa because any Pirates movie is better with Geoffrey Rush in it. 

Dead Men Tell No Tales delivers three creative and fun set pieces. One involves a bank robbery that defies the laws of physics, how can six horses carry a building through a city. The scene has genuine spectacle to it. There is also a great scene involving a guillotine and Sparrow that features some clever camera placement and a nice bit of action choreography. The third impressive set piece involves ghost sharks and creates memorable imagery.

Overall, Dead Men Tell No Tales aligns itself most closely with the first film in the Pirates franchise. It is easily the second or third most entertaining entry, largely due to its zippier pacing and knowledge of what fans want. I think Depp's appeal as Sparrow is waining. The film resorts to CGI young Sparrow in a key moment to give us a reminder of that. Still, there is something about pirates that remain visually interesting. Big sea battles and sword play mixed with supernatural elements is a a strong formula and Disney knows it. Sure the film goes nowhere new but there are worse ways to spend your time in a theater this weekend. I am looking at you Baywatch.

3/5