Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge poster

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge

Certificate: 12A

Starring: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario

Release date: 2017

2 out of 5

2

A retread of the plots from the previous four Pirates Of The Caribbean movies, this watery summer flick ties up a few loose ends, throws in a few fun slapstick scenes, but ultimately fails to thrill in the way that the original did.

This time around, the dashing young hero is Will’s (Orlando Bloom) son Henry (Thwaites), who wants to free his dad from the curse of the Flying Dutchman so he can finally leave the sea’s murky depths and return to land. To do this he needs to find Poseidon’s Trident, and he needs Jack Sparrow (Depp) and his magical compass to help him. Throw in a tough damsel named Carina (Scodelario) who Henry meets along the way, a ghostly Spanish baddie named Salazar (Bardem) who wants revenge on Jack, and the presence of the Royal Navy (led by David Wenham), and you have the makings for an action-packed sea adventure.

Unfortunately, in between some enjoyable set pieces – including a daft bank robbery in which the whole building is dragged through the streets, and Jack’s escape from the guillotine – there’s not much plot to be found to propel the movie along. Salazar’s motivation, when revealed, is pretty pathetic, and Barbossa’s (Rush) return doesn’t make sense either. More confusingly, none of the writers can seem to make up their minds what the compass and trident can do, leaving some gaping plot holes that are big enough to sail a tall ship through.

And while both Thwaites and Scodelario are nice additions – although they’re basically substitutes for Will and Elizabeth – and Bardem chomps up the scenery, the big let down of the movie is Depp. His Jack Sparrow is no longer an interesting character, he’s a comedy routine with no depth whatsoever, jumping from scene to scene providing comic relief and little else. By the end of this movie one can only hope he’ll lay the bandana and eyeliner to rest at the bottom of the ocean, once and for all.

Note: in the US the movie is released under the title Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.

Is Pirates Of The Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...

As with the previous Pirates movies, there are fight scenes featuring mild violence and explosions.

Younger viewers may find the ‘dead’ crew frightening. They may also be scared of Salazar, who kills soldiers and looks pretty ghastly.

There are tense scenes as pirates invade a ship and attack the crew.

Young children may be scared by the ghost shark and pirates.

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