"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" is an entertaining return to the roots of the franchise.

Rating: 8/10 (26 May 2017)

The trident, a three-pronged spear appearing in European and Asian mythology and still a recognizable symbol today, is the object of everyone's desire in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (PG-13, 2:09), the fifth film in Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise. Historically, tridents have been used for spear fishing and as weapons. In Greek, Roman and Hindu religious traditions, the trident is the weapon of the gods Poseidon, Neptune and Shiva, respectively. In the folklore of the ancient Greeks, Poseidon used his trident to create bodies of water and also to stir up storms at sea. In short, the trident is said to be able to control the waters, a handy implement to have at your disposal, especially if you're a pirate, a sailor, or have become somehow beholden to the powers of the sea.
Captain Jack Sparrow is not dead. He's just sleeping. In a safe. It's part of a bank robbery scheme that he and his crew want to pull off – if Jack can stay sober long enough to make their plan work. But not much works out for Jack (Johnny Depp, in his fifth turn as the perpetually unlucky, inebriated, horny pirate). He soon finds himself on the wrong side of a new French invention called the guillotine. (And the way that turns out, let's hope it doesn't inspire the Disneyland parks to create a guillotine ride next to the ride which originally inspired this film franchise.) As Jack peers into a basket of severed heads, he's just yards away from a young woman named Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) who is standing atop a wooden platform with a noose around her neck. As Jack is about to lose his head, she's about to have the blood flow to hers cut off because she is believed to be a witch. What else would 18th century British colonists in the Caribbean call a woman of science who is so knowledgeable about astronomy and horology? Carina had recently met another new character to the franchise, Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites). Henry was under arrest on suspicion of treason because he was the only survivor of a British naval vessel which was destroyed in an area of the sea known as the Devil's Triangle. Henry was serving on the ship as a way of searching for the Trident of Poseidon, a mythical object that supposedly can be used to control the oceans – including their curses. Henry is the son of Will Turner, whom we last saw in the third "Pirates" movie, and Henry wants the Trident so he can free his father from his cursed existence aboard the ghost ship known as the Flying Dutchman. Carina thinks she can find the Trident – and she wants to do so very badly – as a way to connect her to the seafaring father whom she never knew. In the chaos that ensues as Jack's crew, led by his friend and First Mate Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally), frees Jack from the guillotine, Henry saves Carina from the hangman's noose and a big new team is formed. Captain Jack, always up for an adventure, loads everyone onto the Dying Gull and they shove off.
Not surprisingly, this mission won't exactly be smooth sailing. Jack is being pursued by an undead Spanish naval officer and former pirate hunter called Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his (literally) rotten crew on a ghost ship of their own. Captain Salazar blames Jack for his fate and that of his crew (which we understand after seeing a very informative flashback sequence). He wants nothing more than to see Jack dead – and also to get a hold of the Trident so he can break free of his curse. While searching for Jack, Salazar cruises the Caribbean, destroying every ship and killing every crew in his deadly path. When he comes upon the ship commanded by Captain Jack's old First Mate and rival, Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), convinces Captain Salazar to spare his life so he can help find Jack. Plus, Barbossa wouldn't mind getting his own hands on the Trident of Poseidon in the process.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" is an entertaining return to the roots of this lucrative cinematic franchise. With a new crew on deck (the directing team of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, screenwriter Jeff Nathanson and composer Geoff Zanelli), the intention was to get back to the relative simplicity, sense of adventure and heart of the original. There's still a lot going on in this movie, but the plot is relatively straightforward (even if it feels a bit contrived) and it's definitely less bloated than the previous installment(s). This one also nicely ties up its storyline (along with some others from earlier in the series), while a post-credits scene makes it clear that there are potentially more stories to tell. But as far as 2017 is concerned, the fifth film displays the great acting, the sense of humor and the action-packed spirit of fun for which the franchise is known – plus the heart of the earlier films. "A-"