Sunday, May 28, 2017

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Last Thursday I went see Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and I thought it was a lot of fun.  I loved Curse of the Black Pearl but I liked each successive sequel less and less (I hated On Stranger Tides) so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this latest entry in the franchise.  Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) is searching for the Trident of Poseidon as a way to break the curse that binds his father Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) to The Flying Dutchman.  He is helped by Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), an astronomer (who is periodically accused of being a witch) who has a map that can locate the Trident.  The two of them encounter Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), as he is trying to rob a bank, and the three join forces.  Meanwhile, Salazar (Javier Bardem), an undead captain in the Spanish Armada who was trapped in the Devil's Triangle by Jack Sparrow, vows revenge against him and enlists the help of Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to find him.  They all meet up for an epic confrontation on the sea for control of the Trident.  The story is kind of all over the place and there are a lot of characters to keep track of (every captain has a large crew and the British Royal Navy makes an appearance) but it has a similar tone and feel as the first movie in the franchise.  I loved all of the swashbuckling action sequences on land, especially one involving Jack Sparrow and a guillotine, and the sea battles are also pretty spectacular (although the sequence involving the Trident of Poseidon drags on a bit).  Javier Bardem is a great villain (I loved his hair) and Johnny Depp is always highly amusing as Sparrow.  I also enjoyed the (very brief) return of Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley as Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann and I squealed with delight at the cameo of Paul McCartney as Jack's uncle (I guess Keith Richards and Paul McCartney are brothers?).  This movie is definitely not a masterpiece but it is a great summer blockbuster and it was a fun way for me to start my summer vacation.  If you are a fan of the franchise, then I suspect you will enjoy it.

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