Being the 5th film in the Pirates franchise, Dead Men Tell No Tales does just enough to bring the series back to its former glory. Keywords – just enough.
In Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) sets out on a mission to find the impossible-to-find trident of Poseidon, the relic with the power to lift his father’s curse. Joining him on his mission are Carina Smith (Kaya Scodelario), who has motivations of her own, and Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), who is essentially just up for an adventure, but is also being hunted down by the villainous Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his crew of ghost pirates. Captain Barbosa (Geoffrey Rush) joins the fold along the way as their storylines converge in epic fashion.
The Pirates films have never been known for their simplistic plots and it was no surprise to see that the plot in this instalment was as muddled as any that have come before it. It’s not that it was entirely hard to follow, but more so that if you tuned out for a moment, you could miss a key plot point, eventually leaving you asking more questions at the end of the film. Thankfully the film’s set pieces keep you engaged throughout most of the film, though some of the non-action scenes are a bit uninteresting. It’s perhaps due to a lack of chemistry between the film’s leads, or the somewhat tiresome presence of Captain Jack Sparrow, or the generic villain in Javier Bardem’s Captain Salazar, whose character felt a little like a missed opportunity.
The film is definitely one with several flaws, but let’s be realistic – we don’t go to see a Pirates film for its meaningful plot or intricate characters – we go to see a Pirates film for its awesome action, visual effects, humour, zany characters and its ability to pull you out of the grind of daily life and transport you into its swashbuckling fantasy world for a couple of hours. On those fronts, the film manages to succeed. It may not have re-captured the magic we saw in the first Pirates film all those years ago, but what more can we expect after seeing so many of these films, and let’s be honest, they’re not going away any time soon. In what is basically a reboot of the original series, Dead Men Tell No Tales does a good job in re-igniting the fire this series sorely needed.
The film’s epic set pieces are something to behold and worth the price of admission alone. Not only do they look great, they manage to keep you at the edge of your seat while blending in elements of humour; classic Pirates movie stuff. It’s these aspects of the film that keep audiences coming back, and the filmmakers have clearly mastered this angle of production, consistently producing films with high levels of entertainment value and it’s no different here.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has everything you’d expect from a Pirates film. If you go in expecting the film to break new boundaries like the very first film did, you’ll be disappointed. If you go in with low expectations and are simply out for a good time, then expect to have a good time.
Fun Fact:
According to Australian film industry sources, the budget is above $350 million dollars. This was officially confirmed by Disney and the Queensland Arts Minister on October 2, 2014, stating that filming will take place exclusively in Queensland, Australia, being the largest production to ever shoot in the country.
COMMENTS