City Press film review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge
Johannesburg - The pirates have taken to sea for the fifth time now and it’s a little played out. You know that compass Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) has in all the movies that points to what you desire most? Yeah, he trades it for a bottle of rum and apparently if you betray the compass it sends forth your worst fear.
In his case that is Salazar (Javier Bardem), The Butcher of the Sea. If you’ve ever seen Bardem play a villain before then you know how chilling and convincing he is. But even that and his ghost ship, The Silent Mary, which basically sails around taking big bites out of other ships, couldn’t distract from the confusing plot.
The crew on Salazar’s ship are exactly like the pirates on the Flying Dutchman in previous movies, except they are naval officers who used to hunt pirates.
I can’t front, I found this movie entertaining in parts. The script has a few good moments and the computer-generated imagery is out in full force – look out for the ghost sharks. They’ve opted to add a fresh romance story for us in the form of Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) who must free Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) using Poseidon’s trident, the same treasure Sparrow is searching for. Along the way, he joins forces with scientifically minded beauty Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) and their fighting soon turns into love. Yay!
There are a few twists along the way that real fans will enjoy but really, five movies deep? It’s time to dock the ship.
Channel24 also reviewed Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. Click here to read more!