3.5 stars. Rated PG-13, for considerable fantasy violence and mild suggestive content
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 5.26.17
Assuming Disney is telling the
truth — that this truly is the final Pirates
of the Caribbean entry — the franchise is leaving the stage on a strong
note.
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| Carina (Kaya Scodelario) tries to maintain her composure, as Capt. Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp, far left) hints at dire results if she refuses to answer his questions, while Marty (Martin Klebba, center left) and Scrum (Stephen Graham) eagerly anticipate whatever comes next. |
Dead Men Tell No Tales suffers from a bit of bloat, but
it’s by no means a showpiece of wretched excess akin to the previous two
installments. Scripters Jeff Nathanson and Terry Rossio return to the better
balanced blend of humor, chills and excitement that characterized the first
film, way back in 2003. More crucially, co-directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg — who collaborated
on 2012’s ocean-bound Kon-Tiki —
maintain a brisk pace while (very important) keeping Johnny Depp’s
self-indulgent mugging to a manageable degree.
This new film references earlier
chapters while delivering a satisfying sense of closure, and — best of all — a
well-conceived and truly terrifying villain, given a significant fright-factor
by co-star Javier Bardem. Having set his own standard for disturbing evil in No Country for Old Men, Skyfall and The Counselor, here Bardem oozes wrathful malevolence at a level
likely to terrify some of the younger viewers certain to drag their parents
into the theater.
Although this film is laden with
violence, Rønning and
Sandberg (mostly) keep the carnage to a family-friendly level; there’s no gore
and very little blood, with the slicing and dicing limited to quick sword
thrusts. Plenty of nameless sailors, soldiers and pirates meet unhappy ends,
but somehow the core characters — and the half dozen or so supporting players
who’ve become familiar — always seem to duck at the right moment.
A
prologue finds young Henry Turner (Lewis McGowan) rowing out to a certain spot
in the moonlit ocean, where he times the reappearance of the ill-fated Flying
Dutchman, the legendary ghost ship doomed to sail the seas forever. Unhappily,
its crew includes Henry’s father, Will: a sad fate for the stalwart character
Orlando Bloom played so well in the first three films.
Fear
not, Henry tells his father; I’ll find Poseidon’s fabled magical trident,
rumored to have the power to eradicate all ocean-bound curses.
Flash-forward
a number of years, and Henry (now played by Brenton Thwaites) has become a
ship’s mate with the British Royal Navy, stationed in the Caribbean colonial
town of St. Martin. Despite his warning — Henry having read up on such things —
his ship’s captain ventures into the dread Devil’s Triangle, and a fateful
encounter with the imposing Silent Mary, the ghostly galleon commanded by the
terrifying Capt. Salazar (Bardem) and his cadaverous crew.
Henry
is the only survivor, having been spared by Salazar in order to “tell the
tale.” Alas, back in St. Martin, Henry is branded a mutinous coward and
scheduled to hang.
