Despite the New York Times profound claim that, “‘Dead Men Tell No Tales.’ Not Very Well, Anyway.” the last installment to the franchise was an excellent finally. Granted that there are mistakes in every movie, this review will focus of the things that annoyed me. However, it is good to note that I won’t be picking apart the movie. Instead, I will be appraising it, for the majority of the review.

In the final squeal in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is at the end of his luck as a pirate. Meanwhile, a Spanish Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) seeks revenge on Sparrow (Johnny Depp) for taking is life and ruining his reputation. To save his life, Sparrow (Johnny Depp) partners with Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) and Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) to find Poseidon’s trident.

Let’s start off low and end with the highs: The thing that got me really annoyed was the lack of personality in the characters. They delivered half-hearten performances and, at times, made their character flat. The story was a bit confusing from time to time because of the inflames plot holes. Carina’s (Kaya Scodelario) and Henry’s (Brenton Thwaites) relationship was a little rushed and, to be honest, sloppy.

As far as the contribution to the story line of the franchise, I am irritated beyond belief. In my opinion, this installment and On Stranger Tides, the previous movie, should be flipped. Loose ends in Stranger Tides were left out in the open and weren’t resolved. The main story line in the first three rapped up in this movie. If the movie where flipped the story would have been easier to follow and the introduction to the new characters in Stanger Tides would have made more sense.

However, the since of adventure was still present in the movie. The Australian sights were breath taking. Salazar’s (Javier Bardem) ship and how it moves to destroy other ships was a delight to see on screen. It was new and inventive. The concept behind the plot of the movie was interesting and worth the audiences attention.

The chemistry between Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Henry (Brenton Thwaites), and Carina (Kaya Scodelario) was entertaining. Sparrow’s (Johnny Depp) and Henry’s (Brenton Thwaites) banter  regarding love was whimsical. The amount of innocence from Henry (Brenton Thwaites) in contrast to Sparrow (Johnny Depp) was amusing. The dynamics of the new characters and how they interacted with the old was nicely blended.

The movie played with the concept of the feminist movement by having Carina (Kaya Scodelario) be an astronomer and a horologists, a person who studies time. As a female, I liked how the franchise continued to present strong female leads throughout the movies. In this installment, in particular, the idea of Carina (Kaya Scodelario) being “a woman of science” was a delight and a wink to the women pursuing the science and engineering fields.

Although Hans Zimmer, the original composer for the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, did not compose for this movie, Geoff Zanelli did a wonderful job filling in the enormous shoes that Zimmer left behind to fill. Zanelli’s music added to the adventures spirit that the movies are known for. Zanelli had me hooked and satisfied when composing and adding to the iconic soundtrack.

All in all, the franchise rapped up beautifully. Not all lose ends were tied up exactly, but some major plot points came around full circle. Before you see the movie, first watch the four previous movies. Trust me, you don’t want to be on stranger tides when you watch Dead Men Tell No Tales. 

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars