Review of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) by Chess123Mate — 05 Jun 2017

Note: I really like the first four movies.

This movie is missing what made the previous ones great: somewhat complex plots where different characters interact, each with a different motivation. Jack usually interweaves between these motivations with cleverness, negotiation, and some planning. However, In this movie there was no complex plot, the plot didn't make much sense (and contradicted some of the things implied or stated in previous movies), and everyone except the evil antagonist ended up wanting the same object (and to use that object in exactly the same way, making them all allies against the antagonist). Jack has always had scenes where he cleverly plans an escape or series of actions (often surprising bystanders with his ingenuity), but there were no such scenes in this one. Jack sometimes did things that were inexplicable, but these actions were never proven to be particularly intelligent. (Possibly it was meant to be humourous?) Jack spent almost the entire movie imprisoned, tied up, or being chased - unlike other movies, Jack spent almost no time leading anyone anywhere (whether directly as Captain or indirectly as adviser/selective informer).

I found the antagonist to be distasteful. He seemed to be on a murderous rampage, not caring who got in his way. The story suggests he got a really powerful ship (before being cursed), but it didn't make sense to me. Several ships attacking his all at once should have left a dent, but didn't. The antagonist and his ship, crew, and animals that just happened to be in the area are all cursed for entering an area - but whenever anyone else enters that same area, no curse is applied. After the curse, his ship had strange abilities that make you wonder why these "curses" are always such blessings if you want to be the perfect murdering machines (their abilities were more powerful and varied even than Davy Jones's!) Whereas Blackbeard valued little life other than his own, this captain seems to be thrilled at the idea of killing anyone he deems his enemy (with what I perceive to be inconsistent morals).

There were no significant twists in the plot - it told you almost everything that was going to happen near the beginning; the rest just followed through. The plot revisited William Turner, and showed a number of things about his condition that don't add up with what the previous movies implied. What happened to Will's father? Didn't William have a job to do, that - if he fulfilled it - he wouldn't have any fish-corrosion on him (as Davy Jones did)? In the beginning, isn't William in command of the Dutchman - so why did he act like the crew was going to do some evil thing to William's son (who was visiting)?

Minor notes:

-I saw it in 3D, but found that the 3D didn't add anything to it.

-The music was fine; they managed to keep the same type of music while varying it enough from previous movies to be pleasant to listen to.

-A lot of the characters from the previous movies didn't show up in this one (and Angelica was implied to be involved in future movies based on the ending of the 4th, but wasn't).

-I didn't care for most of the ending (too much death for my liking).

Overall, the scenes didn't make much sense and very little of it was enjoyable. The beginning few scenes were fun, but they failed to introduce the elements needed to make it a good movie. As one who very much enjoyed the previous four films, I do not recommend watching this one.