Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

This review may contain spoilers!

There are plenty of things wrong with this film but perhaps the worst is just how clear it is that Johnny Depp is cashing in big time. I would give Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales a 4/10.

This film has a few good moments that link back to the classic original three Pirates films; seeing Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann show up really adds a lot to the film, particularly in regards to Henry Turner's character. I also liked how there were a couple of scenes that attempted to capture some of that 'Pirates of the Caribbean' tone; the giant bank heist scene at the beginning of the film was great, watching Henry Turner's ship get butchered by Salazar and his crew and the flashback scene to how Salazar and his crew became cursed were all very impressive scenes. The score for the film is probably the best aspect of the entire film, the brilliant rising swells of music when chaos and chase sequences erupt and the return to some of the classical themes from the original films were all very well done.

Brenton Thwaites, who played Henry Turner, really works hard as the young protagonist who guides the action for this film; Thwaites brings forth a character who can be a little naive and thrilled by the adventure he is flung into. Kevin McNally, who played Gibbs, has the worldly knowledgeable pirate role absolutely spot on; McNally is one of the most consistent performers in the Pirates franchise and the exasperated exchanges he has with Jack and the crew are always quite witty. Golshifteh Farahani, who played Shansa, portrays one of the more intriguing characters of the film; Farahani is a mystic role that is completely unpredictable which can really lend an edge to her scenes. Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, who played Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann respectively, make for some amazing minor appearances in this film; Bloom in particular does a great job of showing just how badly becoming the Dutchman's captain has afflicted him.

However the best performance came from Geoffrey Rush, who played Captain Hector Barbossa. Barbossa has always been my favourite character within the Pirates franchise and Rush does an exceptional job portraying him. What I like about Barbossa is that he feels so genuinely like a pirate; that comes down to the voice, his gait and his manner at face value. If you look back at Barbossa over the years we've been afraid of him in the first feature, seen him as a schemer in the third, watched him mauled and broken after losing the Black Pearl in the fourth and now he rules a pirate empire on the seas. This self-assuredness and fearless quality in the face of becoming the hostage of a great cursed threat is pretty impressive. I also like how Rush explored his role as a father figure, the conflict he brought forth over such responsibility is quite fascinating to watch and adds a new dimension to the character. I'm not really pleased with how they killed him off nor how they ended things with his character but I have to admit Rush committed to everything asked of him in this film and really brought some quality acting to his scenes.

The amount this film really does not know which story it wants to tell is quite appalling, the film begins by making you think saving Will Turner is going to be an important aspect of the film yet as the feature porgresses you're not really sure which direction the film is wanting to go. Suddenly it gets distracted by Captain Salazar and his ghost crew, yet this intense vendetta he has against Jack Sparrow doesn't have much depth and feels like a really poorly developed subplot. Then the storylines that are actually intended as subplots don't make much impact; you care very little for the relationship between Jack and his crew, Carina's quest to follow the map left by her father is a bit of an forgettable moment, the British keep popping up in the story for no reason and the 'big twist' that Carina and Barbossa are related is incredibly late in the game. The film is so slow to present all of these moments throughout the film, to be frank half the feature seems fairly unnecessary. The cinematography is kinda bland for a blockbuster film, every shot appears set up and you aren't immersed in the world. The special effects look really bad, watching the Black Pearl grow back to a sea-faring vessel was poorly animated but it was Salazar's corpse army that looked especially bad.

Johnny Depp, who played Captain Jack Sparrow, really cashed out hard in this film; Depp shows no consistency in how he performs his role nor even much interest in giving a good performance. Javier Bardem, who played Captain Salazar, is an antagonist without a great deal of depth and who has no progression over the entire film; Bardem gives up after the second act and is reduced to a babbling mess of a role. Kaya Scodelario, who played Carina Smyth, is quite an arrogant role who is hard to like; Scodelario is quite a sharp icy role which never really goes away making her a poor addition to the main cast. Angus Barnett and Giles New, who played Mullroy and Murtogg respectively, have lost the spark they had in the first three films; now their comedic relief is more miss than hit. Paul McCartney, who played Uncle Jack, really did not make for a good pirate role; his banter with Depp was just a glaring gratuitous cameo that gave nothing to the film.