"Dead Men Tell No Tales" has a lot of action and some good jokes, but everything is very mechanical, not surprising, adding nothing to the franchise

Rating: 7/10 (30 May 2020)

Fifth film in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, "Dead Men Tell No Tales" is directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, with the script by Jeff Nathanson. Jerry Bruckheimer returned as a producer, while Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario and Orlando Bloom star in the film. The duo of directors cited the first feature of the series, "The Curse of the Black Pearl", as inspiration for the script and tone of the film.
This time, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) is the new stone in the shoes of Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). He leads an army of murderous ghost pirates and is willing to kill all the pirates on the face of the Earth. To escape, Sparrow must find Poseidon's Trident, which gives its owner the power to control the sea.
After a more episodic adventure seen in "On Stranger Tides", presenting us with other tales from the seven seas as mermaids and the Fountain of Youth, this time Jeff Nathanson's script focuses on other aspects, such as witchcraft, mysticism and science, in addition to put the famous Trident of Poseidon in the middle of everything. In fact, what we see here is an adventure that can be compared to "The Curse of the Black Pearl" - many parallels can be drawn (more scenes at sea, battles between ships, cursed crew, revenge etc.), although the tone does not present any newness and innovation. Now there is very little left of the novelty that one long day caused. Much of this was lost in the wear and tear of a formula that was never rethought, "The Revenge of Salazar" is the synthesis of this reduction, something that had been demonstrated since the third film in the saga. After a six-year rest, the series returns with Dead Men Tell No Tales without the dramatic weight of the last two films and with a visibly tired Jack Sparrow. The fatigue of the character and Johnny Depp is wide open on the screen, but it does not detract from the uncompromised afternoon session proposed by the studio. With an episodic air, this fifth feature has a simple script, full of predictable twists, but with honest execution.
One of the aspects that guarantee the identity of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, is how the old sea legends are used in order to compose this universe that mixes fantasy with reality. We saw this with Davy Jones, the Fountain of Youth, the Kraken, among many other elements. Dead Men Tell No Tales, however, sounds like the chapter that adds the least in this sense, even though it offers a look at Jack's past and resolves the future of others. Poseidon's Trident is something that is never truly worked on and we just have to accept what it does, similar to the Blackbeard's magical ship in the previous film.
What the script proposes here is a return to the central characters of that story at the beginning of the franchise, the first scene already shows the return of Will Turner, a famous figure played by Orlando Bloom, and even if the narrative is not focused on him, but on his son, Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), there is a first attempt to co-opt the audience by remembering his first and best titles. The decision to tell a story from Jack Sparrow's past gives the impression that the pirate will be the center of attention. This doesn 't happen. Despite guiding the narrative, he shares the screen well with Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), the villain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and mainly with the new protagonist couple, Carina (Kaya Scodelario) and Henry (Brenton Thwaites). The plot mixes the revenge of the Spanish officer, with a search for identity and redemption by the two youngest in the cast. One is the rebellious son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the other is a young scientist who tries to give a feminine look to the pirates' journey. In addition to the predictability of the script, the biggest mistake of this new Pirates is to force a connection with the predecessors. Bringing the sense of an even larger universe (as if the other films had not done enough) does not add or increase interest in that world, but makes any subject that escapes the main core an unnecessary prop. This happens with Barbossa's plot and the English Navy's always futile goals. While focusing on resolving Salazar's rematch and Sparrow's "messes", Vengeance approaches the first Pirates and works.
It is true that in the opening minutes the film brings and articulates everything that was once interesting in the series, there is adventure from this young protagonist, there is humor, there are even good visual insights. The first part of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" refers to a classic matinee tone, something very present in that first film in the series. The scene of the bank robbery by Jack and his troupe is sensational. However, this new feature is a constant chronicle of the wear and tear of the series, the narrative of the fifth title itself is getting lost. Everything sounds extremely conniving with the characters of the work, everything seems to happen magically in the feature, without giving the viewer the slightest explanation. Even the encounter between Henry and Carina is completely played, the character just appears in the other's bed for no reason. The feature is a succession of these inexplicable encounters that only facilitate this narrative. The characters meet, appear or know something without it being shown to the viewer. And the worst thing, when something comes to light, is through the worst and least functional narrative crutches, such as the use of a flashback to explain the relationship between Salazar and Sparrow, something that, until this point, its importance for the narrative is not understood.
The number of unnecessary sequences and focuses is too much for immersion in the story. To begin with, the whole relationship between Henry and Carina fails to convince us at all and it is clear that they are there just to repeat Will and Elizabeth's dynamics, something that never happens, of course. Other than that, we have a completely expendable focus that does not affect the narrative at all in a crown officer, played by David Wenham, who is certainly wasted in this film. It gets ridiculous as the whole issue surrounding this character is resolved in an instant, just like that. The story always follows the same formula: Sparrow is always about to be executed when his crew comes to save him and, from there, set out on a new adventure. The whole world always wants the head of the pirate: The English Navy, other pirates, sorcerers, sea monsters and, in the case of the new film, ghosts. Each story has its object of desire. It can be a treasure chest, a magic compass, a mythological trident, things like that, which are passed from hand to hand during the plot. In search of the artifact, the group ends up finding themselves in several unusual situations, with pirates ally and betraying themselves all the time, unexpected solutions and many jokes and puns, some that work, but most do not. Another repeat play: after Keith Richards acted as Sparrow's father in the previous two films, it is now Paul McCartney who makes a cameo as the pirate's uncle.
For the first time in the series since The Curse of the Black Pearl (which he composed in association), Hans Zimmer did not compose the music for the film, but one of his colleagues, Geoff Zanelli, who had worked on all previous films in the franchise, now as the main composer. The composer maintains the classic themes of the series and knows how to amplify the emotion and tone of adventure when necessary. At least Nigel Phelps' production design maintains the level of the series, along with excellent visual effects, especially bold to build Salazar and his crew, which perfectly symbolize death itself. However, alongside cinematographer Paul Cameron, the directors end up delivering confusing action scenes that are hampered by excessive effects and very dark moments. Regarding the effects, the facial rejuvenation performed by Disney deserves to be highlighted, which hits the spot on young Jack Sparrow, who, ironically, is better than the old man in this film.
Depp, just like in the previous film, just repeats more of the same, without the same inspiration as before. If before everything revolved around Captain Jack Sparrow and his iconic figure, now he looks just like a prop, whose function is to repeat dribbles and mannerisms, without this developing the narrative seen. Like Depp, Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) used to be charismatic. Both characters are more uninteresting than ever, with both actors playing automatically. The villain Salazar is a little better, both for the performance of Javier Bardem and for the beautiful visual effects that accompany the character, keeping the Spanish captain in an eternal state of death and drowning. Bardem is fine, but does not receive a script that allows him to create a really threatening villain.
"Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Men Tell No Tales" has a lot of action and some good jokes, but everything is very mechanical, not surprising. It is more of the same. For those who just want fun, that's fine, but lack a minimum of creativity. The final climax in the quest for Poseidon's Trident is excellent. The film certainly just repeats the same formula as the first film, adding virtually nothing to the franchise. With a Jack Sparrow more exaggerated than usual, a plot full of unnecessary elements and characters that do not convince us, this work shows, once and for all, that Jack should have already hung his hat, burying the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which already gave what he had to offer.