Treasure

Rating: 7/10 (9 June 2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a prime example on how to resuscitate a franchise. I consider myself a Pirates fan, and I am happy to say this film is a worthy addition to the franchise. As soon as the movie started, all the shameful exposition made me think this would suck, but as the new characters are introduced, and the old ones etch their way in, the movie improves greatly. Dead Men Tell No Tales spends the necessary time in character development, and Kaya Scodelario makes the otherwise dull plot devices tolerable. She is the single best addition to the franchise and should be what the next movie should focus on to make it the best it can be. Her screen presence is completely magnetic and she steals every scene she is in.
The other new elements, like Captain CGI and Henry Turner, are solid, but nothing extraordinary. I really wish they had used more practical effects instead of a motion capture transparent army, but it wasn't too bad.
The movie also has some GREAT set pieces, and I swear the guillotine sequence is one of the funniest I've seen in some time. Depp and his antics are perfect for set pieces so that really helped the movie, and the script was sharper than I thought it would be. That last death scene was also very good, and though the reveal seemed a little gratuitous, it didn't negatively affect the end product that much.
The score is mostly evocative of the previous movies, as it is expected, but it embraces that and does it well, unlike some other Disney movies. Geoff Zanelli also introduces some new themes that are good, but his spotting for the old Hans Zimmer themes is remarkable. The fleeting french horn motif he uses for the small Black Pearl was magnificent, expressive orchestration. I really hope he stays on for the next film.
Overall, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a good movie that is fun to watch, and that is all that really matters. Taking into account the non-existent source material (a theme park ride), Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg do a pretty good job at directing it, and Jeff Nathanson and Terry Rossio pulled a pretty passable script out of their asses, even though there are some pretty blatant continuity errors (compass origin story) that hopefully most fans will overlook. Combined with very sharp cinematography by Paul Cameron (Deja Vu, Collateral), and a good score by Geoff Zanelli, Pirates 5 ends up being a pretty good movie, setting the stage for a much better continuation.