Film of the Week: Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge

Also known as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, this fifth instalment in the series sees Captain Jack Sparrow hunt for the Trident of Poseidon, along with Henry Turner and Carina Smyth. Henry’s goal when finding the Trident is to break the curse that’s keeping his father, William Turner who during the events of At World’s End, is now captain of The Flying Dutchman. They are also hunted by Captain Armando Salazar, an undead pirate, who is also searching for the Trident to wipe out all pirates.

Bearing a similarity with the first film in the franchise, Jack Sparrow is no longer the main character. Whilst the plot does revolve around him mostly, he mainly follows along with the other characters. Salazar’s ultimate mission is to wipe out all pirates from the seas, but Jack was the one who trapped him in the Devil’s Triangle, and so wants revenge for cursing him to be a ghost forever.

The Trident of Poseidon has the ability to end all curses. This also frees William Turner from the Flying Dutchman, so he can walk on the land without any side-effects. It was nice to see Orlando Bloom reprise his role, along with Keira Knightley as Elisabeth Swan respectfully, even if it was right at the very end. Johnny Depp and Jeffery Rush slips naturally back into the role of Jack Sparrow and Captain Barbossa, as do the rest of the cast.

The franchise is good at expanding its mythology and increasing the size of its world, but unfortunately, the story in this one felt a little rushed. It shouldn’t matter that this is the shortest film in the franchise, but it does show. I enjoyed the film for what it was, because I like the characters and seeing their story continue along what can only be described as a huge rollercoaster ride, but if I were to compare it to the other films, which I have to because it is the fifth in the series and not the first; it fell victim of tiredness. Written by different people, directed by different people, and scored by a different person – with fresh faces entering the series, I did have high hopes that they could reinvent the series, but unfortunately, their finished product was only a worn out story that was also rushed.

Without comparing it to the other films, it’s a treat watch. The story is fun and easy to sit back and relax to without wondering if you’re missing too many important elements. It does have a 12 certificate, but it is fun for the whole family, and seeing it on the big screen only made it that much more enjoyable. Even in a spoiler filled review, I don’t want to give away the ending, but it’s one that I was not expecting in the slightest, and does set a course to a sixth instalment, because I simply can’t believe that they would do what they did, especially after being such an important element throughout the franchise and has become much loved by all – I may have given away too much… No, I think it’s still cryptic enough to not know what specifically happens.

There are obviously unconfirmed rumours going around suggesting a sixth instalment, but they are only an extension from the previous rumours pointing towards the production crew filming the fifth and six instalments back-to-back. As much as I want to say “I don’t know where else they can take the series”, I said way back when the fourth was announced. This time however, with every curse broken, it might be difficult to explain away some things, but of course, the world is a much bigger place. With all the curses broken, it might actually give the studio a chance to do what I thought they would do with this series, reinvent it.

To sum up this movie – it’s better than the fourth instalment. I’m now considering the fourth as an interlude movie between the two main series.

P.S. I do have one question. At the beginning of the film, Salazar specifically states, "dead men tell no tales" when refusing to tell Henry why he wants to hunt down Jack Sparrow, so why did he explain the story to Barbossa? In keeping with the meaning of what he said, it would have been better if the flashback sequence was shown at the beginning of the film, before Henry Turner's scene.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)