When I first heard the news of a new Pirates of the Caribbean film, I didn’t have very high hopes. With a decade passing since the original trilogy wrapped, and a standalone movie that felt foreign to the franchise, I was wary about whether or not a fifth Pirates film would be able to capture the spirit of the original movies.
Happily, I can now say that my expectations were proven wrong. Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is an enjoyable summer movie, and one that lives up to the Pirates franchise, with swashbuckling adventures on the sea and on land, and the welcome return of familiar characters like the ever-famous Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa.
In Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, the laugh-out-loud humor and crazy hjinks of the first three Pirates movies is once again brought to light. The audience first reunites with the character as he is discovered asleep inside a bank he is about to rob, leading to a hilarious, highspeed chase that ends with them stealing the bank, but none of the coin inside. As with most of the Pirate films, Jack starts off alone and at his wits end, abandoned by his crew, who believe that he has now lost his luck, but being Captain Jack Sparrow, it is not long before he is swept up in a new adventure, bringing the audience on a wild ride.
Carina Symth, the film’s other new character, is also one I instantly connected to – unlike Elizabeth Swann, who was brought up a governor’s daughter, Carina has led a less than charmed life, abandoned in front of an orphanage with only a notebook, but both characters also demonstrate a similar drive and determination which make them easy to root for. Like Henry, Carina is on a quest for family – him to save his father, her to find hers. Although I quite enjoyed the plot twist of Barbossa as Carina’s father, the emotional weight of the revelation was lost because of how quickly it was executed – right after Carina recognizes the pattern of stars on his arm, Barbossa falls to his death to save them from Captain Salazar. Even though his sacrifice was a noble one, and a father’s sacrifice also seems a fitting end for a narrative that centers around looking for fathers, it also seems a shame to lose Barbossa from the Pirates cast, as his prickly and witty dynamic with Jack is one of the best of the group. Perhaps he could be resurrected for a sequel?
Captain Salazar is an effectively terrifying villain for this chapter of the Pirates franchise, and one with a sympathetic backstory to boot – even as you hope that Jack will escape from his clutches, watching his crew getting trapped in the Devil’s Triangle is somewhat heartwrenching. His action scenes with Jack as they spar and jump from the Silent Mary to the Black Pearl were energetic and lightning sharp, keeping my focus tied completely to the screen, even as the movement of the chairs in IMAX 4D was somewhat distracting.
The heart of a Pirates film lies in its humor, fast-paced action and excitement, and in this, POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales delivers.