Not expecting much from the fifth installment of the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’, you sit in the theater resigned to the fate of watching a mind numbing rehash. However, as the title appears on the screen, when Jack Sparrow makes his dramatic entry in a bank vault or when references to the previous installments are made, the younger crowd go up in raptures and you sit up and realize this series is alive and the familiar, turns out to be entertaining after all.
Newcomer to the series Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), is the son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Kiera Knightley) and his mission is to find Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and his compass to release his dad from the curse. Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) is an astronomer and horologist who have a book that will lead to the Trident of Poseidon which will help her discover who she is. Salazar an ancient Spanish soldier whose mission was to eradicate every single pirate is killed by Jack Sparrow and now as an undead, he wants to find him and take his revenge. How all these characters along with the series regular Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) collide and reach an action packed set piece climax is the rest of the screenplay.
If you thought Johnny Depp’s charm as Jack Sparrow has waned you are in a for a surprise as he is not only fresh, but with minimal effort keeps you entertained every time he appears on the screen. Watch out for his intro when he literally robs a bank and also the pangs of jealousy he shows when Will Turner’s name is mentioned and when he witnesses the kissing in the climax. Geoffrey Rush’s character comes a full circle in this film and kudos to him (in spite of his face buried under hideous makeup) for expressing the intricate feelings of a dad meeting his child for the first time and the final sacrifice. The super talented Javier Bardem is the major highlight of ‘Pirates 5’ and he makes Salazar his own by his intense performance that we get regularly from him in any character he plays. Both Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario are welcome additions to the story and the two have the charisma and acting prowess to endear themselves to the audiences. Orlando Bloom and Kiera Knightley in their fleeting appearances receive thunderous welcome from the crowds while the well known supporting cast like Kevin McNally, Martin Kiebba, Angus Barnett and others all have their moments.
‘POC 5’ is high on fun and the very entry of Johnny Depp and the bank robbery sequence hooks you. Thereafter there are many lighter vein moments, especially when there are throwbacks to the previous films. The romance between Thwaites and Scodelario characters is subtle and so are the emotional elements like Geoffrey Rush meeting his daughter, the loyalty of Sparrow's crew proven again and so on. How long since we had a truly happy ending in a movie that you leave with a smile on?
On the downside, the battles at sea are been- there- seen- it-before kind and the visual effects too are a bit of a letdown in the climax especially when the treasure island is shown. When having a powerful villain like Javier Bardem on board there should have been more one on one scenes between him and Depp which would have been a delight but they hardly face each other in the film.
Paul Cameron’s cinematography is top notch submerging the viewers into the seas and at every time he hits the shores he makes us feel the relief too. Roger Barton has provided clean cuts and thankfully we do get to know who is who in the free for all battles at sea. Writer Jeff Nathanson and directors Joachim Rønning,Espen Sandberg have given more importance to emotions and fun elements and that makes ‘Salazar’s Revenge’ a cut above the previous two films.
Verdict : Go for it with family for a fun outing with emotional moments that top the visual effects
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