Ever since 2003 when Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl was released to theaters to a resounding success and then with the follow up of The Dead Man's Chest the series has been a huge financial and merchandise asset for Walt Disney Studios. Even though the 4th installment made a good meal of money from overseas, it was not widely considered very good, and the 5th installment was even less inclined to be considered good theater going fare. I do have to say that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was much better than On Stranger Tides. The film follows the adventures of Will and Elizabeth Turner's son Henry as he tries to set his father free from the curse of the Flying Dutchman. Along the way he runs into a woman who is trying to fulfill her father's work, even though she never knew him. Of course Jack Sparrow makes an appearance along the way and he is trying to run from yet again another...individual who desires him dead; Captain Salazar, who turns out to be the villain. Ironically though, he hunts down pirates because they murdered his family, and only kills pirates...so technically he isn't really villainous unless you're a pirate apparently. Oh, and he and his men suffer from a curse which keeps them dead like zombies or something like that. All of these players, plus more, end up looking for....you guessed it, Poseidon's Trident, because what else would a bunch of seafaring people look for that could end all curses, and help one dominate the sea. Of course at the forefront of all of this is Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. I'm not certain if he is beginning to lose his edge, or if the character is becoming to predictable, or the writing is just poorer than ever, but this is perhaps his worst performance of the character of all five films, or I should say weakest. His finest performance of course was the first film, which was of course the finest film as well. Javier Bardem played the villain Captain Salazar, and did so quite well, although he should have had more prominence in the film than he did; this was due to an overcrowded field of villains and minor characters. Geoffrey Rush played Captain Barbossa who grew a little bit more as a character in this film, and was perhaps his second best performance of the character, although I won't give away the key plot point that is tied to this. Brenton Thwaites played Henry Turner, and actually did quite well. I by far enjoyed his character far more than Orlando Bloom's Will Turner. He was compelling, humorous, empathetic, and not as preachy or obnoxious as Will Turner. Kaya Scodelario played Carina Smyth, who turned out to be the love interest for Henry, and the token Elizabeth Swann character. It's a shame they didn't spend a little more time developing her character and her story line as there was really great potential there. David Wenham played the typical British officer antagonist, but was more background than anything useful to forward the story and/or plot. The supporting cast was good, but definitely nobody stood out aside from the headlining cast.
For some odd reason it took two directors to helm this film; Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, and they did a decent job but nothing quite inventive or remarkable about their style; very linear and straightforward. Perhaps where this film erred the most was the writing by Jeff Nathanson, although the story by Terry Rossio was pretty good, but it was the screenplay that desperately needed some help. Geoff Zanelli composed the music, and aside from his work on this film I've never heard of him before, or rather the music I've watched of his on previous films wasn't profound enough for me to remember him or the music. I suppose that says enough. His work on Dead Men Tell No Tales wasn't dreadful, but there wasn't anything really memorable or electrifying about the score. Paul Cameron did the cinematography which was like the directing, very linear and plain; not that it was poor or bad, but it wasn't much else. The action sequences in this film were.....a little over the top, but mostly boring and not very dynamic; The Curse of the Black Pearl had the best action. Visual effects were okay, and I have to admit that I really liked what was done with Captain Salazar and his crew; they appeared as if they were in this constant state of death of when exactly they all died. It was quite impressive and perhaps the best idea of the film. Overall it was an entertaining film and that's about it. I would watch it again, but it wasn't amazing I have to point out. Hopefully Walt Disney will stop making these films as it seems Johnny Depp appears worn out by the character as he didn't have much to offer in this last film. See it, don't see it; either or won't make much of a difference. Moving away from the 5th Pirates film, I visited Los Angeles, CA with some family last week and we visited the legendary "Hollywood Walk of Fame" and I was disappointed to discover that two very important individuals to the movie making business do not have a "star" and they are John Williams and George Lucas. One man is the finest film composer of all time, and the other man changed movies forever and how people watched them. Not that I care much for Hollywood these days as any kind of an institution, but they should really do something for these men while they yet live. However, I'm certain they will not, which would explain my continuing disdain for Hollywood and all of its various guilds. The tend to love and adore figures like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey (who unfortunately is really a phenomenal actor) and shun talented innovators like George Lucas. Should be interesting to see how the Golden Globes go over tomorrow in light of everything that has been going on. Well, as I've possibly written before; films are primarily for entertainment, although they can be considered art and used for teaching lessons, and actors and actresses are merely entertainers and nothing more and should be treated and addressed as such. It is indeed a sad state of affairs when entertainers are paid more and exulted more than those who are protectors such as soldiers and first responders. Something to consider.Interview with Johnny Depp
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales trailer
Creating the Make-up for Dead Men Tell No Tales
