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Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales, USA, 2017. Directed by J. Rønning and E. Sandberg, written by J. Nathanson and T. Rossio (from the characters crated by T. Elliott, S. Bettie, J. Wolpert). With Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario. Original music by G. Zanelli. Length: 129′. Rated: PG-13.

Henry Turner wants to free his father from the Flying Dutch, Carina wants to legitimize herself as an astronomer and they both need a pirate’s help. Who else, if not Jack Sparrow, can help against the phantom of the most ferocious pirate-hunter that ever lived, the cursed Salazar?

The fifth chapter of the Pirates’ saga had a very heavy burden to carry: making the audience forget the awful fourth movie and, possibly, marking a new course towards a new successful cycle.
Unfortunately, the mission didn’t go very well for Disney, Bruckheimer and all of the creative team behind the Caribbeans: some aspects of this movie are indeed good, even if far from the splendor of the first trilogy, but as a whole the work lacks the true spirit of comedy and adventure, mixed too roughly and at some point in competition with each other.

The directing duo Rønning/Sandberg had maybe the easiest of roles: the road shown by the other movies was pretty clear, so that the action scenes manage to keep that great visual impact, avoiding the special effects and the post production heavy hand, which are fortunately less invasive and annoying than it could be anticipated.
On the other hand, the screenplay leaves a pretty bitter taste: the new characters, Henry and Carina, offer absolutely no novelty in comparison to Will and Elizabeth, with a slow-developing romance beside feeble personalities: a lost chance, since the two young (and talented) actors could really have brought something good to the storyline; furthermore, the twists in the plot are somewhat insignificant and, honestly, there is just one last surprise for the audience (two, considering the traditional post-credits scene): too little for anyone’s expectations.
Maybe the worst part is Jack Sparrow himself: he is really belittled until he becomes a caricature of himself, a larger-than-life character which would be at ease only on a Greek theatre stage, with his hyperbolic expressions and drunkard attitude until the viewer almost feels pity for him.

The actors can save little of the show: Geoffrey Rush is the only one who stays true to his character, selfish but with a tiny heart that suddenly opens up in certain situations; his talent cannot be questioned. Johnny Depp in the end saves himself, just because it’s clear how much his acting gives to this incredible character, who’s demise will never be his fault. However badly written the characters are, both Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario don’t give the incredible performances that could have been expected from these two emerging young stars: they will certainly have time to build far more convincing critical appreciation towards themselves.
The best of the movie, in terms of character but most of all thanks to his acting, is Javier Bardem: Salazar is one of the best villains of the franchise, just a tiny bit below the matchless Davy Jones; loved it from the very first moment, flashback included.

Geoff Zanelli. I don’t know what to say here. The score is something that, in this saga, has always been extremely important. Maybe it was a wise choice not to change too much from the previous installments, although the original soundtrack here is so short that one can doubt the worth of Hans Zimmer’s scholar.

A real disappointment, there’s nothing more to say about this movie. I cannot say that it’s the worst of the franchise, the depth of the fourth chapter’s disaster cannot be equalled, but many spoke of this movie as a new beginning. Pirates of the Caribbean ended “At World’s End”: beyond that, the great void.

 

DOWNLOAD REVIEW IN PDF: Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales, 2017

LEGGI LA RECENSIONE IN ITALIANO: Pirati dei Caraibi – La Vendetta di Salazar  – Recensione