Yay or Nay?: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (Film)
I love Pirates of the Caribbean movies. I really do. I think they're funny, adventurous, and (at least the first two), were clever with an intriguing storyline. I mean, I'll admit "At World's End" at me going "wtf?" and the fourth one, "On Stranger Tides", flat out sucked for me, but the fifth one intrigued me enough that I wanted to watch it. Maybe some other month, I'll do a straight review of the other four, but for now, I'm going to assume that my readers for this have seen the others, and (probably this one). I like to start back when doing a series like this so this review will be on the latest installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
If you haven't seen it (but c'monnnn I know you have), this was the trailer
On a real note though, I didn't have high expectations for this film. At least, not after On Stranger Tides was released. That, and the premise was different for this one, as rather than focusing on Will, Elizabeth, and Jack, this one stars their (Will and Elizabeth's son), Henry.
So, what did I think? Is it good? Full of swashbuckling adventures and high-tide romances (Jesus, this sound like a Harlequin novel). Did I like the new change of pace the film took?
Well...kinda. And, kinda not.
Like, don't get me wrong. I did enjoy this one. Quite a lot actually. I laughed, and the story intrigued me. But at the same time, it also didn't feel the same. Which, I suppose is to be expected, given that I went in knowing this would be a different set of characters, but still keeping the beloved ones, like Jack and Barbossa. Yet, even then, these characters somehow felt a little different as well.
The Story
Well, let's start with the story. This is the synopsis by "Rotten Tomatoes"
"Thrust into an all-new adventure, a down-on-his-luck Capt. Jack Sparrow feels the winds of ill-fortune blowing even more strongly when deadly ghost sailors led by his old nemesis, the evil Capt. Salazar, escape from the Devil's Triangle. Jack's only hope of survival lies in seeking out the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it, he must forge an uneasy alliance with a brilliant and beautiful astronomer and a headstrong young man in the British navy."
-Rotten Tomatoes
Now, this story seems interesting. Albeit it feels like it's trying to be grandiose and outdo all the other films before it. Still, good story and it doesn't fail me on-screen.
However, it feels out of place.
Example? Well, there's one scene where Jack sells his magic compass. You know the one, the one that will show you the direction of whatever it is you desire? Yep. Sells it in a heartbeat. Which, even though, because it is magic, if you betray the magic, karma will bite your ass. But Jack still does it.
Why did I find this weird?
Well. It seems out of character. Now, it's not out of Jack's character to be potentially thoughtless in that. No, not at all, and the exchange when he does it is frigging funny (as he trades it for some rum). What is out of character is that in the other movies before, it seems to me like Jack and the compass were inseparable. It was valued by him. If all else failed, that compass would steer Jack right. So it seems odd that he just gives it away, just like that. It's as if the other films never happened. And I get them trying to make it seem as if Jack's "mojo" is gone, but that was one place where this felt suspicious to me.
Also, Will Turner.
Now we don't see much of him. His scenes are strictly at the beginning and end, but I'd like to know what went wrong for him to get the tentacle look from Dead Man's Chest. I thought that only happened if the Captain of the Flying Dutchman broke the rules associated. As it stands, I didn't think Will had. As well, he's darker, broodier, and while understandable, it seems he's lost all hope for himself. That's...not the Will I remember either. I mean, I wasn't expecting a kooky, fun, Will Turner, but in At World's End, it seemed that he had renewed himself, and while it would be hard to manage The Flying Dutchman with Elizabeth, he seemed hopeful that he could do it. That and his father would stay around for a little longer to help him out.
But it's a complete 360 from that here. Perhaps that was intentional, perhaps not. It still stood out greatly to me though.
Now, for the good.
Henry is absolutely adorable, Barbossa is brilliant, and Jack is amazing, as usual. I loved how these characters shined in the movie. Carina, the astronomer, as well was fantastic. Each of them had their own chemistry, and Henry was too much like his dad (and those throwbacks really helped me to get engaged with his character). There's some great story, and the villain, a Spanish Navy Captain, come back from the dead to seek revenge on Jack, was also really enjoyable to watch.
The story, as well, which I thought would be lame and undermining, was also done nicely and reminded me of the first two movies. Although it kinda undid them, perhaps that was needed. The Trident of Poseidon can remove all curses, undoing literally every single other movie almost in this series, but it was done well. It focused more on the adventure than the actual finding of it, and that's the charm the original had (at least to me).
Barbossa actually gets some really nice redemption in this one, and they show a lot of backstory surrounding Jack, which was also welcomed. And the scenes in this one are gorgeous and creative. They really did a good job on this one, much better than On Stranger Tides. It had a nice balance of funny, adventurous, and good story-telling.
The ending, I won't spoil, but it was also very satisfying. I don't know if this was the planned ending of the entire series, but if it is, it's incredibly good.
My Rating
It's a good movie. I'd give this installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean a hard ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 stars! It's decent and enjoyable, but not essential to see, or own unless you like the series.
Check it out! It's a yay!
-Meghan
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