Captain tries to save sinking ship

In Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, also titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, two treasure hunters reluctantly join hands with Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) in order to find the mythical trident. Henry Turner (Thwaites), the 19-year-old son of William Turner (Bloom), believes that he can free his father from the curse of being the captain of ‘The Flying Dutchman’ if he can get the trident. Then comes Carina (Scodelario), a young woman branded a witch due to her scientific temper, who joins the band. As the three set out on their journey, they are hunted both by the Royal Navy and by ghost sailors led by captain Salazar (Bardem) who is seeking revenge on Jack.

To cut it short, this movie is an excellent example for filmmakers to understand that some franchises need not be overstretched. You may have been impressed by all the fun cameos, the big stars cast and Sparrow’s innuendo-laden jokes, but there’s nothing particulary striking except for a short humour on the captain’s love of drinks and women.

Of all the series, this edition has the sloppiest plot which is ridiculous and complex at times. For instance, Carina may not be a witch, but there is a real witch and she is just happy to help anyone — for no reason at all.

There is little love and whatever love story Thwaites and Scodelario share doesn’t help either. Bardem is a good actor in his role as the villain, but Salazar’s thirst for vengeance against Captain Sparrow is just plain stupid. Will it be the last of the Pirates franchise? Well, hopefully it should be. However, for fans it will be a sad way to say goodbye to Captain Sparrow if the series ends here on such a bad adventure.

English (U/A) ¬¬
Cast: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario
Directors: Joachim Ronning & Espen Sandberg