'Pirates' Fumbles Through The Middle But Somehow Sticks To Landing
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario
Action/Adventure/Fantasy
Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Rated PG-13
In theaters May 26, 2017
There's something instantly nostalgia inducing when the familiar sounds of the Pirates of the Caribbean score begins in the fifth installment of the franchise. And then again when Jack Sparrow appears on the screen. And when you first see Barbossa or William or even Jack the monkey.
And yet, something just seems off.
The stunts are a bit too big. The villain seems a bit too farfetched. Jack is a bit too drunk. Some familiar faces are a bit too underserved. The plot seems a bit too familiar.
For diehard Pirate fans though, it may be enough.
Especially when it comes to a handful of nods to previous installments and, most importantly, the final 5-10 minutes.
There are more than enough laughs to go around throughout the film and plenty of the swagger that moviegoers have come to know and relate to the Sparrow-filled films, so it's hard to call this movie a disappointment. There are redeeming moments that manage to be more than enough to make up for the lower points - specifically a muddled up middle.
Thwaites manages to somehow embody both Elizabeth and Will in a rather impressive way and newcomer to the franchise Scodelario holds her own among a crowd of old favorites. However, it is obvious the first film came out almost fifteen years and four movies ago. Jack's antics are the same as ever and the plot holds little variation to the ones before.
Rumors were once floating about that this installment would be the final in the series, and I think it's safe to be say if we let these pirates go sailing into the horizon.