Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) by Tyger44 — 25 Jun 2017

Dead Men Tell No Tales feels like a fresh new start for Pirates of the Caribbean. After the conclusion of the original trilogy felt aimless and lacking both direction and the spirit of the first film. However, after watching DMTNT, I was reminded why loved the first movie so much.

Pirates is the right mix of old and new, with favorites like Jack Sparrow and Barbossa (who are both given great material to work with) returning as well as new faces like Will and Elizabeth's son, Henry, as well as Carina Smyth, whom I don't want to spoil the revelation involving her.

And their adventure to find the newest treasure of the Caribbean is easily the most fun I've had with a Pirates film since the first film. This is largely because, the script for the movie has so much heart and it avoids becoming overly complicated, a problem that plagued early films.

The action is high-octane, the one-liners are hilarious, and when the film gets serious, the big pay-offs are surprisingly touching. Really the only two problems I have, are the "been there, done that" design of the villains, and the fact that I felt the movie wasn't the most welcoming to casual fans.

I felt like my experience was greatly improved because I was familiar with the events of past films. However, I imagine that without that knowledge, people coming into the franchise for the first time might not understand the finer details or the weight some of the big climatic moments the movie has.

Nonetheless, the film is just a fun adventure with a satisfying conclusion. I watched it with a smile on my face almost the entire time. I don't know whether or not the series will continue or not. If not, the series will end on a high note.

If so, I'm excited to see what comes next. A Pirate's life for me. Yoho.