A Great Send-off or a Resurgence for the Series

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2017)

It seems people are either heralding this entry in the franchise as being on par with the first or the further decline of the series. I disagree with both.
"Dead Men Tell No Tales" is not quite as good as the original, but it trumps the other three sequels. It feels more coherent than "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World Ends" and feels more necessary and less hastily slapped together than "On Stranger Tides." While "OST" felt out of character for the series this new entry almost pays homage to the original. It hits many of the same beats and borrows many plot features from that first movie. And despite (or maybe in light of) that fact this one reaches the heights of the first film. Well almost.
Another complaint I have heard is how stale the character of Jack Sparrow feels. Though to be honest this seems to have been a complaint since the second film. I would hazard that the character only really had a shelf life of one film. So I would think of him as a plot device at this point and I would also couple that with some good news. Every other character is enjoyable and returning supporting characters are in top form. I would not include Bloom or Knightley's characters in the latter however as they really were brought in to draw back fans.
Javier Bardem's character (Captain Salazar) was creepy and the real show piece of this movie. Such a good villain. From his performance to the character's design. It all worked. Definitely the part of this movie that you'll remember.
Really my only complaint is that it felt so similar to the first film. But one could say that for the Force Awakens when compared to the original Star Wars and that was a fantastic film. Perhaps the only other issue is how some of the plot points in this movie might feel pointless if this is in fact the final entry.
Is it as good as the first? No. Is it damn good? Certainly. I'll be looking forward to a 6th title.