Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

The best film in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' franchise will always be the first, which is still a terrific film fourteen years later (has it really been that long, feels like only yesterday when first seeing it when it first came out).

Its sequels are not on the same level, and while they are a long way from flawless none of them are awful films either. They have their flaws, 'Dead Man's Chest' did get too frenetic sometimes, 'At World's End' was overlong, bloated and needlessly bloated and 'On Stranger Tides' (which has been dumped upon by many here but to me it was a very enjoyable film, one of the better sequels, and much better than given credit for, which is not going to be a popular opinion) had an underdeveloped and forced romantic subplot and too much filler that could have been trimmed in some places. They all have great merits, namely great visuals, exciting action, Hans Zimmer's music, Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy.

'Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge' has its defenders but has also been met with underwhelmed disappointment by critics and most fans. Personally am on the fence with 'Salazar's Revenge' and consider it one of the weaker entries generally of the series, with only 'At World's End' being weaker. It is a decent and fun enough ride, but it could have been so much more and has some glaring flaws.

It is easy to say forget the story, however this is a strong case of being very hard to do so when there is so little to it. It takes a while to get going and there are some real pacing problems in the final act, which has its good points but generally is very tedious. It is very thin for the running time and feels overstretched and bloated, giving the impression the film is too long. The script has some droll and witty quips every now and again, but mostly it is very weak with far too much of a rambling, improvisatory and random feel, it just doesn't feel that well structured. There is also a very bizarre exchange with Depp and Paul McCartney (whose presence is rather jarring).

Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario are vastly inferior to Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, they lack presence and come over as bland and dare one say deadweight. The music score is rousing enough and creates some nostalgia, but can be overly bombastic and is too much of a retread from the music of the previous films. There is an overload of CGI effects, which standard-wise are mostly splendid though with some artificial ones too.

With all this being said, there are obvious merits here. Once again, the production values are impeccable, the cinematography is skillful and full of beauty and atmosphere, the costumes, sets and period recreation is authentic and sumptuous and the effects are superb. As aforementioned the special effects are splendid quality-wise.

'Salazar's Revenge's' action is a lot of fun too, being coherent and exciting, especially the very scary one with the undead shark and the ending, which also does a good job clearing up loose ends. There are some great and suitably light-hearted comedy set pieces, like Jack being dragged by a building and clinging onto the guillotine.

Jack not being the central focus but still being essential to the plot proved to be a good move. 'Salazar's Revenge' succeeds in bringing a sense of nostalgia. Loved Barbossa's story arc, inarguably the film's most interesting which allows Geoffrey Rush to really sink his teeth and give a fun and moving performance. His revelation and his farewell was heart-breaking in its emotion.

Contrary to what some have said, apart from the newcomers to the franchise Thwaites and Scodelario as well as McCartney, the acting was fine. Although Johnny Depp's performance has been criticised, to me he still has the enthusiasm, sense of fun and swagger. Geoffrey Rush does a great job as always, while an unrecognisable Javier Bardem (very impressively made-up) is simply brilliant and clearly having a whale of a time as perhaps the franchise's most sinister villain (if not the best, that title still belongs to Bill Nighy's Davy Jones).

Summing up, decent and fun enough ride that could have been so much more. 6/10 Bethany Cox

A few of the reviews I read before going to see this fifth (and supposedly final) Pirates movie basically boiled down to "well, at least it's better than the last one". I don't know, am I the only one who liked "On Stranger Tides" because it at least tried to do something different with the franchise? This new entry just tosses the soundtrack and best bits of the first three films in a blender, adds a new zombie bad guy and a couple youthful new romantic leads and hits the puree button. They even re-use the "bad guys can walk through the bars of a prison cell" effect from one of the earlier movies.

Yeah, some of the special effects are spectacular, there are battles at sea, lots of stuff blows up, the villains are creepy and some of the comic relief is funny (and some is painfully unfunny), but watching this movie it was hard to shake the feeling that I'd seen it all before. It's pretty much paint-by-numbers, even down to Javier Bardem's bad guy reciting the film's title line just before it appears on screen. Even Depp's Captain Jack seemed largely uninspired.

On the positive side, many of the characters you've come to know from the first four films return for this one. Orlando Bloom's Will Turner shows up to help set up and resolve the plot, and even Keira Knightley makes a very brief appearance. At over two hours long I was afraid the film would drag in spots, but it moved along so quickly that I was actually a little surprised when they reached the big finale.

The plot, without getting into spoilers, revolves around Will's son Henry who is determined to break the curse on his father and rescue him from the Flying Dutchman. In order to do so, he has to retrieve a powerful, magical item that is also being sought by a brilliant young woman with a mysterious map that her unknown father left to her. It soon turns out that they need Jack Sparrow's help, and of course that drags Captain Barbossa into the fray. Opposing them all is the undead Captain Salazar, who bears a grudge against Sparrow and will not rest until he's dead.

There's a very short and unnecessary cameo by Paul McCartney as Jack's uncle Jack. He tells a lame joke, there's a single off-screen laugh as if even the filmmakers realized how pointless the scene was, and then the plot moves on.

One bit where the film really went off the rails was a flashback scene in which we learn why Salazar hates Sparrow so intensely. Instead of hiring a younger actor to play Jack, they digitally de-aged Depp and raised his voice about an octave. The result is just...creepy. And entirely unconvincing.

I don't know if it was just the theater where I saw the movie, but the picture was really dark for a lot of the film and the sound mix was terrible. The explosions and music were super-loud and often drowned out the dialog. I'm glad I didn't see the 3D version because I've heard that's even murkier-looking. At the rate movies are going, in a couple decades the theater experience will be staring at a black screen for two hours while being deafened by a continuous roar.

At any rate, if you loved the earlier films in the Pirates franchise and want another dose, or if you're just looking for a big, mindless spectacle with some bits of humor, this movie fits the bill. I can't say I really disliked it, but it also didn't make me sad that it's supposed to be the last one. Or is it? Stick around for a final scene after the credits that hints at an unlikely sequel. Or maybe it's just meant as some weird sort of joke. I heard people discussing it in the lobby and no one quite knew what to make of it.

Nice addition to the saga but still not as good as the old ones...I m a 30+ old big fan of the Pirates of Caribbean movies and absolutely love what Gore Verbinski did with the first 3. I was utterly disappointed with the previous potc movie (#4). I went to watch this new one with a lot of prejudice. But luckily it was an epic and fun movie to watch! Extremely entertaining and connected with Verbinski's style and work. Lots of beautiful action scenes, nice landscapes, humour and never ever, at any point boring. Jack Sparrow is definitely back in great form. 8/10

Sadly, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was just a mediocre film from a dying series of great films, and this film honestly brings nothing new to the table for this series. In a time full of cinematic universes, and unnecessary reboots, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn't do anything special to wow audiences like it originally did almost 15 years ago. The film was full of mediocre acting, writing, visuals, and music, and is a film that will honestly just end up being forgotten like the film that came before it. In the end I decided to give Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales an "Alright" on theVade Review Bar or a 5 out of 10. It's heartbreaking to say, but I have to agree with what Mark Kennedy from the Associated Press said about this film. "After this fifth episode, you'll wish Disney would just declare the franchise dead and tell no more tales."

Read more at theVade.

After the dreadful predecessor that was 'On Stranger Tides', I entered the cinema with rather poor expectations... how I left with even lower enjoyment is beyond me.

Perhaps it's the fact that a theme park ride can't sustain a story for an entire film franchise? Maybe it's the fact that I've seen this story before in four other films? Perhaps the lack of character development and me not giving a damn about any of the new characters? Or maybe it's just because it's an orgy of CGI madness? Who knows? Either way, this film is a complete over-the-top mess. Watchable? Yes. Enjoyable? Hell no!

I admit that 'Dead Man's Chest' and 'At World's End' weren't "fantastic" movies, but they rounded off a rather enjoyable trilogy, especially following the ultimately brilliant first film. But the two sequels' success should not have been an excuse for a fourth and now a fifth film, with each film the reception lowers and the standards and eagerness for the next further lowers. However, Disney as the opportunistic blighters they are, take their box office success with stride and look to creating the next underwhelming, money-making sequel. This time it's in the form of 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'.

The overuse of jokes we've heard on several previous occasions, the fact that the beloved Jack Sparrow is now becoming a character we look at in contempt because he's worn out, much like the franchise. Scraping the bottom of the barrel, milking upon its previous success... both terms that can be applied suitably to this movie (if that's what I can call it). And do you know what the worst part is? This film will make its money back, it'll double, triple, quadruple its budget in box office returns, thus giving the producers a reason to create yet-another dull sequel.

All-in-all, I actually think I had an aneurysm whilst watching this film...