Ship of Ghouls

Rating: 7/10 (29 May 2017)

(RATING: ☆☆☆½ out of 5 )
GRADE: B-
THIS FILM IS RECOMMENDED.
IN BRIEF: Entertaining but predictable, one need not jump ship on this film series...yet!
SYNOPSIS: Supernatural forces again plague Captain Jack Sparrow on his 6th voyage to misadventures.
JIM'S REVIEW: In the sixth installment of this profitable film franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the McGuffin of its treasure hunt, besides trying to locate a good idea in its overly busy script, is a mysterious object called The Trident of Poseidon, which can undo any curse. A fine premise, but all this movie really does is undo any logical sense in a convoluted ho-hum plot. It's a series of fun-filled mishaps (with some fun) that involve our pirate anti-hero once again, namely Captain Jack Sparrow. Played by Johnny Depp, his role is more of the same...drunken stupor and slurred diction with comic pratfalls. Mr. Depp's colorful character is losing some of the charm in a performance that once was imbued with a twinkle of wit, a major asset in previous installments. But it is still diverting enough to entertain.
Pursuing Capt. Jack on this voyage are a ship of ghouls, led by a vengeful walking dead Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Mr. Bardem's interpretation of this worthy foe saves this sinking ship. That, and the excellent CGI of a ghostly crew from the netherworld with assorted animated zombie-like sharks and birds help to make this nonsense more tolerable than it need be.
Also back on board is Geoffrey Rush as the crafty Barbossa, who delivers some nice moments along with Kaya Scodelario and Brenton Thwaites as the young lovers (substituting for the aging Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom, and minus their star power).
The film retains strong production values that one has seen and expected from this big budget series. Even if the direction by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandburg is serviceable, and at times, rather inventive, the script by Jeff Nathanson (Four other screenwriters are credited with the story.) is just too formulaic and predictable. What was once an imaginative jaunt, especially on its first two adventures, is now become slightly tedious and monotonous in its execution. The action, which is non-stop, has an unfocused look, both in its plot and photography by Paul Cameron. Sometimes the film relies on too many close-ups which undercuts the action and its action sequences need some editing and better staging. (A couple of major rewrites wouldn't have hurt either.)
Back in 2003, the original film was the result of a popular ride at Disney World and it gave the movie-going audience a wonderful adrenaline rush. This latest reincarnation resembles a frenzied loud cinematic ride, an apparition of its former self that only tires and rarely inspires. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales may still have interesting tales to tell. But on this voyage, the story telling needed to follow a better course.