Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

release year: 2017
genre: pirate action/adventure
viewing setting: home streaming 5/21/22

synopsis: Will Turner's son decides to free his father from the curse of the Flying Dutchman, and deals with a variety of allies and adversaries in the process.

impressions: This one continued some previous plotlines, while introducing a new villain and some new heroes. I felt it was better than the fourth film in the series; it had a more epic quest, and another nasty villain. My one grip about these is that - while I can accept the presence of magic/mystical elements, the films should at least try to explain them, which they don't always do.

acting: I'm really getting tired of Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, who's as lucky as he is successful, and always far from trustworthy. The new characters dominated: Brenton Thwaites as the hero-kid, Kaya Scodelario as a bold scientist-type who everyone thinks is a witch, and Javier Barden as yet another undead and/or magical foe. Geoffrey Rush returns as the original adversary/captain, ditto Kevin McNally as Jack's too-loyal first mate.

final word: Fun, but not always sensical.

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