Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

2017  PG-13  ACTION  2h 9min

CAST— Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin McNally

MUSIC— Geoff Zanelli  DIRECTORS— Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg  BASED ON— Walt

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean (Disneyworld attraction)

     The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has never been concerned about coherency, and this entry is no exception. As a boy, the son of Will Turner vows to free his father from the wretched curse that plagues him. As a man, the young Turner partners with a beautiful astronomer and (you guessed it) Captain Jack Sparrow. See, this time around there are some undead dudes led by the vicious Salazar who want to kill Sparrow and claim the ultimate treasure: Poseidon’s Trident, a relic that may bring an end to all the curses of the sea. It’s a race to the island that holds the Trident, full of action, suspense and zombie sharks. Not quite as violent as other Pirates films; not as long, either. One can tell that Johnny Depp still has fun as Sparrow but the fifth time around isn’t 1/5 as charming or hilarious as the original. Good enough for fans but for those new to the series the references may go over their heads (heck, some stuff may go over the heads of diehards, as well). All in all fun, but nothing groundbreaking. AKA Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge.

OUR RATING— ** ½

PRECEDED BY— Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006), Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)