Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) by King D — 02 Nov 2017

While slightly more enjoyable than previous installments, Dead Men Tell No Tales continues to prove that virtually nothing can save this murky franchise from the depths of what lies beneath. Johnny Depp, is as always, reliably cool as Jack Sparrow, although tolerance for the character will vary wildly.

His personality continues to coast the film by, but its clear that the series has no idea what to do with the character, who just seems there for laughs and not really prone to any development of any kind.

More noteworthy is the new young actors, Brendon Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario. Both do relatively fine in their roles and its clear that neither of them are taking the film too seriously. However, Thwaites character is entirely bland despite his best efforts but Scodelario's proves a rather interesting female character thanks to a subtle backstory and determined attitude, frequently outshining her male counterparts.

Javier Bardem tries his best to convey a menacing performance as the villain, Captain Salazar, and arguably boasts an interesting backstory, but the inconsistent cg effects and muddled speech drown him out.

If you've seen any Pirates film then you've already essentially seen this one as well. Not content with trying something new, Dead Men repeats basically all of the plot points from the previous installments, a formulaic adventure that follows the checkboxes left by its forebears.

Its entirely predictable in other words. The directing duo do their best with what they can do but their necessity to follow what's already been done leaves them no distinctive marks on the franchise as a result.

It is entertaining at times and the film occasionally manages to offset any inconveniences with timely humor and interesting ideas but occasionally the humor falls flat but its still crowd pleasing. Above all else however, the visual effects are simply breathtaking and they blend well the film's use of practical effects.

The amount of detail and thought put behind the film's production design is also a neat touch. The action sequences are surprisingly dull, especially for a film of this calibre and despite the crew's best efforts, they still lack the energy to overcome a sluggish feel.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is an occasionally fun and entertaining film that doesn't do anything new nor tries to offset its formulaic affairs.