The Worst One Yet and I Still Liked It

Rating: 7/10 (14 June 2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean has been one of my favorite franchises since the beginning, my favorite having always been At World's End. One thing I really liked about this movie was the tie-ins to AWE, with the return of Will and Elizabeth, the Flying Dutchman, and even the cliffhanger at the end with the possible return of our favorite tentacle monster, Davy Jones. But more on that later
Another thing I enjoyed was the constant humor throughout, with the execution attempts on Jack and Carina, and definitely the banter between Jack and Henry. Although, the humor did seem to be layed on a little thick at times, making Jack seem like more of an accident prone goofball of a hero than the sassy and epic pirate we've seen from the past.
One thing I found a little irritating was that Jack seemed to be a completely different character. For the past four movies, Jack was a ruthless, swashbuckling, expert swordsman and marksman that made us love him even though he was usually doing no good. Even at times when he would fight his so called friends, we still rooted for him because we knew that they would fight on the same side again at the end, even when it didn't seem like it. However, it's obvious from the get go that Jack as changed his ways, and a little too much. He even goes far enough to save people he's just met, choices he's had to make before, but it took a lot of will power to save another before himself. Now he does it like it was nothing, which makes him seem more like a true Disney hero, but that's not what we sign on for at a Pirates movie. I want to see him struggle between being the thieving pirate everyone sees him as and being the hero he secretly wants to be.
Another thing i could've lived without was Carina being Barbosa's daughter. We already got the father-child dynamic with Will and Henry. Adding "Carina Barbosa" to the mix seemed really forced. And while Barbosa's sacrifice at the end was sweet and heart warming, it could've made sense even without it being his daughter. We've absolutely seen Barbosa become more tame through the series, moving from villain to hero in an instant, and his friends in turmoil would've been enough to make that sacrifice.
One thing I really loved was the reunification of Will And Elizabeth. We really don't know the history of those two after AWE, which was around twenty years before this installment. We know that Will returned once in the middle to visit his family, and that he met his son again two years later when he stowed away on the Dutchman, but other than that Will's voyages on the ghostly ship remain a mystery. The scene where he and Elizabeth run across the field at each other and embrace was of course cheesy, but it still warmed my heart to see them together again, by far being my favorite Disney love story and really the only one worth following. In a deeper sense, during Henry's action scenes and Will's cameos, I noticed and enjoyed the music from the background. If you're a conscientious Pirates lover, you'll notice that they used Will and Elizabeth's wedding and action scenes from AWE in Henry and Will's scenes. AWE had the best score in my opinion and I loved the throwback music very much. I also loved the post-credit scene with Davy Jones, and I'm really hoping to see both Will and Elizabeth again in #6, and hopefully a revived Davy Jones seeking revenge against Turner and Sparrow.
This movie has its faults, don't get me wrong, but it also has its bright spots. Mostly the best scenes are ones with throwbacks to the original trilogy, with Will and Elizabeth, Davy Jones, and even the returns of minor characters like Gibbs, Marty, and Mullroy and Murtogg. There isn't much to say about the new characters, other than that Salazar was too similar to Davy Jones, Henry and Carina's love story was pushed too hard, and the British empire's involvement in the affairs of Jack and the Black Pearl have become just confusing and unnecessary. Anyways, if you're looking for the best Pirates movie ever, you're out of luck. But if you're looking for a sequel that surpasses On Stranger Tides, then go out and see it.
Thanks guys! Drink up me 'earties, Yo Ho!