A Riveting Return to the Pirates Series

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2017)

As a fan of the Pirates series, I've been waiting for this installment for many years now. It was upsetting to see the film delayed to release dates in 2015 and beyond, but at long last, the Pirates series continues with a fifth installment.
Dead Men Tell No Tales is definitely a step up from the previous film, On Stranger Tides, which focused on a mostly new cast and took the story and its characters in a very different direction. Dead Men Tell No Tales brings back old characters while also fleshing out an interesting story. I've some complaints about the film, and what better way to start than with the plot holes?
If Jack gives away his compass, the thing he fears most will be released - and that thing is Salazar. This concept seems feasible, but how does Salazar know this is possible? How does he even know about Jack's compass, let alone anything about Jack beyond what he saw at the Devil's Triangle? Why is Blackbeard's sword able to restore the Black Pearl to its original size? In the film's post-credits scene, Davy Jones' resurrection is hinted at. It would be an interesting twist - but if the Trident's destruction eliminated any curses in the sea, why would Jones still look like a tentacled-monster? The Trident's destruction even caused Salazar to turn from a ghost to a human again. Also, the concept of the Trident breaking all curses on the sea. Let's talk about that. The only reason this concept came to be was so Will Turner could be freed from the Dutchman's curse. And even that isn't done very well. Will's son Henry strives to claim the Trident so it can break his father's curse. Might I mention that this fabled weapon appears in the film for three minutes, before being destroyed by Henry, despite being the focus of the film's plot?. At World's End proved that the Dutchman must always have a captain. Maybe this ties in with Jones' possible resurrection? It doesn't make sense, at least not right now - and that's the problem. Jones couldn't walk on land in his cursed form, and in the scene he's evidently cursed and implied to be alive, but the Trident wouldn't allow this ... you can ponder that yourself.
I also felt there was a lack of interaction between Salazar and Jack. The film focused on their rivalry and did a great job setting up the concept of it, yet the two characters aren't really shown confronting each other. We get a great flashback scene with them. Then there's a brief beach scene, a scene where Salazar's crew raids the Pearl and he fights Jack, and the final fight when Salazar claims the Trident. Their fight felt very underwhelming, considering Salazar wielded such a powerful weapon and all he did was use it to shoot water at Sparrow. Seriously?
The film did succeed in many areas. Geoff Zanelli did a good job writing the film's score and reprising old themes. Unfortunately, he didn't introduce many outstanding new themes like Hans Zimmer would with his scores. Salazar's theme is great, and the Trident has a cool motif too. It was great to see Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann return, even though their roles weren't huge. Supporting characters, like Marty and Scrum, also came back, and it was great to see them too. The return of the Flying Dutchman and especially the Black Pearl was awesome as well. Seeing Barbossa get killed off was heart-wrenching, as he's been such a well-developed character in the series, but I felt the character's story had been told. And he died so that his daughter could live - a person he always cared about, but had forsaken many years ago.
All in all, Dead Men Tell No Tales is a decent addition to the Pirates series that builds things up again after On Stranger Tides. Originally I feared the film would pull a Force Awakens and re-adapt the original installment in the series. While it draws inspiration in some aspects, as a whole the film expands on the series.