Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow in Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. The Curse of the Black Pearl began the swashbuckling adventure series in 2003 and provided something fresh and fun in multiplexes. Pirates hadn't really been done well on screen, at least not often, and no one had seen a character quite like Depp's Captain Jack. Depending on who you ask, the franchise sustained this magic, or most of it, through the bloated yet entertaining third film, At World's End. Lead players Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightly then departed the series, as did director Gore Verbinski. The fourth film, On Stranger Tides, saw the introduction of a handful of new characters, a new director—Rob Marshall, best known for musicals like Chicago and Into the Woods—and a larger part for Sparrow. Bringing fresh elements to a franchise can be a great move, but On Stranger Tides is a misfire in almost every way; the new talent (including Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane) was wasted, Marshall's action scenes were muddled, and we discovered that Jack Sparrow works better as the colorful supporting character to the blander lead—think Han Solo to Luke Skywalker—than as the central protagonist.
Why all of this context? Well, if you're a fan of the Pirates franchise, as I am, you'll find things to enjoy in Dead Men Tell No Tales. It's an improvement on the last film, but it still suffers from diminishing returns. If you've been checked out of this franchise as far back as the second or third installments, I can only tell you turn your ship around and sail back to the warm embrace of The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Dead Men Tell No Tales finds Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the grown son of Orlando Bloom's character, seeking Jack's help to find Poseidon's trident. The trident can be used to break the curse on Will Turner, who has been doomed since At World's End to ferry souls to the afterlife as captain of the Flying Dutchman. Joining the hunt is Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), an astronomer who's long dreamt of honoring her long-lost father's legacy by finding the trident. Meanwhile, an undead pirate hunter named Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) is released from immortal imprisonment and vows revenge against the pirate who led him to his death: Captain Jack Sparrow.
If that sounds like a bit of a mess, it is. The trident storyline is an alright place to begin, especially as it offers personal stakes for both Henry and Carina, and one can imagine a grand adventure built on that the same way the development of the Indiana Jones films always begin with a relic for Indy to find. The problem is that Jack is barely factored into the adventure. He's needed to provide a crew and vessel for the young leads, but he has no agency. The opening set piece sees him drunkenly take part in a bank heist; his inaction makes sense then, but as the story moves forward it feels like he's simply along for the ride, which is just a waste of the character. Jack Sparrow should not be front and center in all scenes, but when he is on screen he should be doing things, not just reacting. So much of what works about Jack in the first four films is that while he bumbles and has bad luck, he's also extremely cunning and always looking for another angle. It's a shame he's lost that edge here.
However, this could have been a part of Jack's arc. He's a bit washed up at the start of the film, and one might expect to see him get his mojo back, but that storyline isn't given any follow-through. The inclusion of Captain Salazar is the one thing that's directly related to Jack, but as Jack feels tagged onto the main story, so does Salazar. Bardem is always welcome, especially as a villain, but he rarely has any true relevance to the search for the trident. He's after Jack, and Jack's sort of after the trident, and the trident is all powerful, so Salazar is after the trident, too. It's two marginally connected stories heading toward each other, and when they do collide, it's anti-climactic. The film's final battle is underproduced; the setting is interesting and expensive-looking, but the struggle is all too brief and easy.
So, with all the bad stuff in mind, what does make this film enjoyable? Again, if you're a fan of the series, you'll find redeeming qualities that might make the film worth at least one viewing. Johnny Depp is always a joy to watch as Sparrow, even when the material is spotty, and he is given some great moments to play here. Returning the franchise's story to the Turners, even with a new face, is a welcome move, especially as Henry proves a decent protagonist alongside Carina. Scodelario carves out a nice place for Carina among the series' other female leads, and her role as a woman of science ahead of her time is a fresh element for Pirates. Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg are a big improvement over Marshall—who, for the record, I think is a good director who was working out of his wheelhouse on the fourth Pirates—and do a fine job, even if they still left me yearning for the days of Verbinski at the helm. Geoffrey Rush, the most valuable supporting player of this franchise, once again chews the scenery with pirate-y panache as Hector Barbossa, and he's even given some real emotional heft to play. Rush can do a lot with very little, and that talent is greatly appreciated in this film.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales has been marketed as possibly the last in the franchise. Though it leaves the story in a good place for longtime fans, it also feels like a missed opportunity. The magic of the original film is shining through in parts of this one, and with solid new players introduced, the series could stop treading water if the right story and director were brought together. Without those crucial pieces, it's best for Disney to tell no Pirates tales.