Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales – Film Review
The fifth film in the swashbuckling action/adventure series, Pirates of the Caribbean, is finally here, once again starring Johnny Depp as the lovable Captain Jack Sparrow, in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.
The previous Pirates of the Caribbean film, On Stranger Tides, is highly regarded as the worst film in the series, and I have to agree. This however, may have turned some people off, and made them not want to see Dead Men Tell No Tales, because of the colossal flop that was On Stranger Tides, but do not worry, as the latest instalment in the on-going film series may just be one of the strongest films in the entire franchise.
Javier Bardem as Captain Salazar in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Johnny Depp once again brings a great performance to the series as Captain Jack Sparrow, and it is truly wondrous to see this iconic character that we all know and adore back on screen for the first time since 2011. The first time we see his character, fans of the series will get a nostalgic feeling, since this character certainly feels like he his lived and breathed into this world for years now, and it gives the film a sense of weight to it all as well.
The elusive and extremely talented Javier Bardem is a new addition to the series, and plays the film’s main villain, Captain Salazar. Not only does Bardem give a haunting, creepy, and very uneasy performance in this film, but his character is given a great backstory that gives him more humanity, and makes you feel where he is coming from during certain scenes. The CGI is also top-notch for Captain Salazar, and definitely adds to Bardem’s creepy performance, as the CGI adds unsettling cracks in his face, as well as strange moving hair.
The film’s action is truly fun to watch, and whenever there is a sequence with swashbuckling fun, I do wish there was more of it. There are only a few action scenes in the film, and I could not help but wish there was more, since a Pirates of the Caribbean film should have action, as that is the film’s main selling point, alongside the performance of Jack Sparrow by Johnny Depp.
Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017)
Even though I had a terrific amount of fun throughout the majority of the film, there were a few times here and there where I was tad bored, and wanted to see more exciting things occur, which could be due to the film’s pacing issues that are evident during some scenes.
The fifth installment in the iconic Pirates of the Caribbean film is a ton of fun to watch, and adds Javier Bardem as perhaps one of the creepiest and most entertaining villains to watch on screen in the past five years in film.
Overall Grade: B
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content
Cast: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario
Directed by: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Running Time: 129 minutes