Captain Jack Sparrow and his new crew must evade a vengeful Spanish ghost captain and seek out the Trident of Poseidon to defeat him.
ACTION/FANTASY
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Pirates of the Caribbean:
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Everything about this movie pointed to it being a franchise redeemer. You had Javier Bardem as the ghostly villain, as well as the return of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley (even if it was for a brief cameo). There is no reason that Dead Men Tell No Tales shouldn't have been a return to form. The end result is better than On Stranger Tides but nowhere near the fun and excitement of the first three films. Its biggest problems actually stem from its biggest stars, as it's become clear to me at least that they no longer see magic in the sea.
The plot of this film is so muddled and confusing that it's difficult to know where to begin. Henry Turner, son of Will and Elizabeth, seeks out Captain Jack so he can help find the Trident of Poseidon to break Will's curse and free him from the Flying Dutchman. Despite this being a problematic cure-all that undermines the second and third films, it gets even more cumbersome when Carina Smyth, a female astronomer that is constantly referred to as a witch, joins up with them because she too seeks the Trident. Her motivations come from a book her father gave her that contains a map to the Trident. Following them is the diabolical Captain Salazar (played menacingly by Javier Bardem, who nearly saved the movie), who wants Jack dead for personal reasons. All the pieces are there for a solid adventure, but Johnny Depp's obnoxiously phoned-in performance and a number of unnecessary franchise retcons (like the origins of Jack's compass) only aid in dragging this fifth installment down. The film tries to recapture the glory this franchise used to have, but it never once comes close to doing so. Even Geoffrey Rush's Barbossa feels worn out and irrelevant now, and he used to be my favorite character. While the post-credits scene does open the possibility for an exciting sixth installment featuring the return of an old enemy, I'm hesitant to get too excited because I've seen what happens when producers get too involved. If this is what we Pirates fans have to look forward to sporadically over the next few years, I think it's time to lower the colors and retire the Black Pearl for good. |