When you know what exactly you are going to watch, yet are super excited to know how things go about in your favourite but predictable plot, what do you get? Another instalment from the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
This time, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow returns with this venture titled Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge. Directed by the duo Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, the screenplay has been handled by Jeff Nathanson. Pirates 5, as you could shortly call it, deals with numerous subplots but deals with the main core plot of Salazar’s revenge against Sparrow.
The other subplots are the purposes of each of the characters in this fantasy based adventure film. Henry Turner sets out to free his father Will Turner and there is the astronomer girl Carina Smyth who plays a crucial role. Carina has to find the “Trident” with the help of the stars and their position which can only be determined with the help of longitudes. Just as Carina wants to find the trident, so does Henry and eventually the protagonist Jack Sparrow!
With the core purpose of this adventure being shouldered by the search for the trident, a lot of the characters focus mainly on this. There is Jack’s crew who abandon him because he is always drunk and aimless but save his back just when needed. There’s also Henry convincing Jack to join them in finding the trident in order to fulfil multiple needs. Then the map to the trident which cannot be read by anyone and the antagonist Salazar along with his dead men chasing down every ship that sails the seas of the Caribbean.
On another frontier, the Dutchmen want to eradicate Jack, Henry and Carina. With so many stories woven into this 2-hour film, what floats above the sea is Jack Sparrow and his characterization that amuses time and again. Jack as always is, cunning, rude, street smart but good at heart. He is the coolest pirate who is destined to live and the usual escape scenes that feature him getting away from Dutchmen or Salazar are impressive. These escape scenes are funny and natural and have his body language and dialogues leaving us in splits right from the ‘Curse of the Black Pearl’ (part1). The best part about Jack Sparrow is that, even though he is the protagonist, he leaves the centre stage for the other characters but still attracts you to whichever ditch or corner he travels to.
There are emotional moments too in this adventure movie that will partially get you pumped if you are a POC follower. With philosophical yet situational dialogues like “Just because you cannot see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist”, and the Black Pearl ship unleashed in the latter half, there are moments to rejoice but not in a consistent frequency, especially from a general audience point of view.
Bardem as the character Salazar is apt but does not have much scope to perform and Barbossa acts pretty well too. Salazar’s flashback that glorifies the kid version of Jack is short but sweet. The VFX work is commendable and the visuals are a treat. Screenplay in the first half is quite engaging but drops down a little in the second.
In fact, till the pre-climax block, there is quite some excitement. The end is not very convincing and a little abrupt in terms of justification is concerned. However, with Sparrow taking over the last few frames of the flick (post the suspense of the second half that is quite predictable is revealed), there is an increase in the energy and the theme music flowing in would give you the chills and warmth (mixed emotions if you are a POC fan) simultaneously for the kind of character that Jack is.
One other doubt created in the watcher’s mind is why is there such less importance for Jack as the protagonist with relevance to the trident or the main plot? This does leave us a little dissatisfied. Nevertheless, with all this said and done, POC 5 is not a rough sea to travel through and is quite enjoyable and surely the most pleasurable one.
For those who have watched every instalment, Salazar’s revenge is something more than just his revenge as you get to witness a lot of your favourite pirate and relive his mannerisms time and again. But for those who aren’t followers, this movie would engage you in parts but also leave you in doubt as it beholds a confusingly high number of characters and plots woven together, that you might not be able to relate to.