By “Cinema” Dave
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
With less than expected box office revenue and mixed reviews from mainstream movie critics, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales still took the box office crown for Memorial Day Weekend. Yet, according to a popular critical website, RottenTomatoes.com, the paying public likes this fifth Pirate movie more than critics getting a free screening.
Dead Men Tell No Tales features a young Henry Turner locating his father, Will Turner, (Orlando Bloom) who is the current cursed Captain of the Flying Dutchman, the ship that ferries souls to Fiddler’s Green. The son claims that if he can locate the Trident of Poseidon, he can free his father from his curse. The barnacle-faced Will Turner rejects such an offer, especially if it means involving Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp).
A decade passes and a grown Henry (Brenton Thwaites) is still searching for the Trident of Poseidon. His ship is raided by the ghostly Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), a ghost with a score to settle with Captain Jack. A pirate on hard times yet again, Sparrow has become a landlubber with a dry-docked crew. Henry and Jack eventually meet in prison, where they encounter Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario-Davis), an astronomer who is accused of witchcraft.
The plot unfurls like a lapping wave as Jack, Carina and Henry confront Captain Salazar. Eventually, Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) enters the scene in search of his own treasure. Along the way, sea battles, sword battles and zombie sharks add spice to this film.
If this is the final Pirates of the Caribbean film, this Disney franchise closes on a high note. While not slowing down story momentum, this fifth installment answers lingering questions from the previous four movies. While the climax bogs down with too much reliance on computerized special effects, there is enough creative visualization in the earlier scenes to hold one’s interest in the movie.
It is the colorful character interactions that drive this motion picture. The bickering between Jack and Barbossa is as refreshing as the new kids, Carina and Henry.
Captain Salazar is the best antagonist since Davy Jones, who makes an effective cameo that might drive a sixth movie, if there is one.
With Baywatch bombing at the box office, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has proven to be the most sea-worthy movie on the big screen. For those interested in more realistic drama, keep your eyes peeled for Megan Levy, a true story of an American Marine in Iraq who develops a special relationship with a combat dog.
