Warning: This post contains spoilers.
After seeing the second and third "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, I told myself...and everyone else...that I was tired of the "Pirates" franchise. I just didn't like Pirates 2 and 3...the plots were really convoluted and it seemed that each successive movie was trying to one-up the previous one. Besides, #2 ended on a cliffhanger and #3 had an unsatisfying ending (was that supposed to be a happy ending? It didn't feel like one!) I didn't watch movie #4 at all...it didn't have Orlando Bloom or Keira Knightley, and it did have weird CGI mermaids. No, thank you!
So my sister practically had to drag me to watch Pirates #5, "Dead Men Tell No Tales," with her this afternoon. And to my surprise, I liked it! I had a good discussion with my sister about the movie afterwards; she says she thinks the filmmakers were trying to fix all the things people complained about with #2 and #3. Anyway, here are ten reasons why I liked it. Feel free to disagree with me in the comments if you wish. :P
1. It had a simple plot.
The thing that bothered me the most about movies 2 and 3 was how confusing they were. There were so many plot twists and different storylines that I couldn't keep them straight in my head! This movie, on the other hand, had a simple plotline. Everyone wanted the Trident of Neptune. They all went after it. Eventually, they all got to the place where it was and had a fight over it. I appreciated how straightforward it all was. That's not to say there weren't any subplots...there were a few of those (I'll talk about some of them later in the post), but they didn't work as extra complications to the main plot.
2. It completed the Will and Elizabeth story in a satisfying way.
I was so frustrated at the end of movie 3 when Will was doomed to captain the "Flying Dutchman," only returning for one day every ten years to be with Elizabeth. After all they had gone through together, it seemed horribly unfair that they should be separated again. So, when the curse was broken at the end of movie 5 and Will was released and reunited with Elizabeth, it was a huge relief...finally, a real happy ending!
3. Henry Turner was a likeable character.
At first, when I realized one of the main characters was Henry, Will Turner's son, I groaned inwardly. I tend to dislike sequels where the main character is the son of the main character in the previous movie. But Henry (played by Brenton Thwaites) was a bold, driven character and actually reminded me a bit of Orlando Bloom (and a bit of Christian Bale as well). I didn't mind that he was a main character instead of Will.
4. Barbossa got a heroic ending.
Barbossa was a character I never cared much for in the first three movies. He was either the villain or was grudgingly helping Jack Sparrow (for selfish purposes of his own). I liked that this movie redeemed him by having him sacrifice himself for his daughter. (I never saw that twist coming, by the way.) I found myself crying when he died. (Don't tell anyone! :P)
5. The villain was well-done.
I could have done without the disgusting way Captain Salazar's mouth dripped blood every time he talked. I don't know what was going on with that. But apart from that, he was a great villain. He had one goal...revenge on Jack Sparrow...and he was trying to achieve it, no matter what (a bit like the way Javert in "Les Miserables" keeps looking for Prisoner 24601).
6. We got to see some of Jack Sparrow's back story.
It was very cool to see Jack Sparrow become captain of his own ship, with his men giving him tribute (such as the hat that would become his famous hat)!
7. The bank-robbing scene was hilarious.
The scene where the pirates rob a bank by dragging the whole bank building down the streets of the town is just absurd. Impossible...ridiculous...and insanely funny! I could not stop laughing as the bank building scooted down the streets, with Jack Sparrow trying to keep up with it. And it was poetic justice that the safe came open and all the money got lost.
8. The love story wasn't overdone.
Henry and Carina grow to like each other by the end, but that isn't the main focus of the story. Although I like the way Will is constantly in love with Elizabeth during the earlier movies, I'm glad the writers didn't do the same thing with Henry and Carina. They had just met at the beginning of the movie and couldn't even get along with each other until late in the story. It would have been weird to have a romantic storyline happen quickly.
9. There wasn't much actual piracy.
One of the things that always bothers me about the Pirates movies is that there are good guys who are bad guys. That is...piracy is wrong. And the Pirates movies often seem to glorify it. In this movie, besides the bank-robbing scene, there really wasn't any piracy to speak of. Everyone was too busy hunting for the Trident of Neptune.
10. We got to see Will with his son.
One of the best moments of the movie was when Will, freed from his curse, was reunited with Henry. (One of the other best moments was when Will was reunited with Elizabeth, but I digress.) It was great (and a little tear-jerking) to see how proud Will was of his son!
So there it is: my list of ten reasons why I liked Pirates #5. I must add that there were also some things I did not like about the movie. For one thing, there was quite a bit of joking about inappropriate topics...sex, prostitution, etc. If I watch it again, I'm definitely muting it in those places. Also, I hated how Gibbs makes an unwitting sailor the captain in Jack's absence so he, not Gibbs, has to face Captain Salazar's wrath. Another thing I didn't like was that a couple of the "bad guys" early on in the movie who think Carina is a witch seem to be priests or religious sisters. But apart from those problematic elements, I really enjoyed watching it!
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