REVIEW:

Dead men tell no tales.... or do they? Because I can count at least two dead men in this tale who do!

Several years have passed since we've seen hair nor hide of a pirate or pirate ship. As our film begins we spy on a young boy, sneaking out into the dark night, heading out to sea in search of something he desperately wants. The ocean is dark, frightening even, but not to this boy. He is a Turner, Henry Turner to be exact, son of Will and Elizabeth Swann. What is he searching for you ask, well treasure of course, something that is a treasure to him.

Ladies and gentlemen, Jack is back, that is Captain Jack Sparrow. Once again it seems like everyone on the face of the Earth is after him for some reason or other.

Captain Salazar: [to the only survivor of a ship he attacked] Jack Sparrow...

[holds up a wanted poster of Jack Sparrow]

Captain Salazar: Do you know this pirate?

Henry: Only by name.

Captain Salazar: Find Jack Sparrow for me and relay a message, from Captain Salazar. Tell him: death will come straight for him. Will you say that to him, please?

This brings us to one of the many wonderful features of this film and that is Javier Bardem in the role of Captain Salazar, pirate hunter. Adding Javier to the Pirates franchise is just a masterful move to say the least. Of course he gives us a chilling performance to prove that he is the perfect man for the job. I will now take this opportunity to go off on a tangent and mention how mind-blowing the special effects are in this film. This comes to mind now while thinking about how incredible the character of Salazar is presented along with his crew. The special effects don't stop there though. There is plenty of special effects eye-candy to enjoy and all of it is pretty well done. As far as the rest of the cast is concerned we get plenty of new faces that do commendable jobs with their roles and we get plenty of familiar faces that have been staples to this saga. One such familiar face and one of my favorite characters in the series is that of Captain Barbossa played by Geoffrey Rush. I would argue that Geoffrey gives the best overall performance throughout the films, and underrated too. Feel free to join me in that argument if you agree. And then there's everybody's favorite pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp. Believe it or not, this is where we run into a little hiccup. Johnny and/or Jack doesn't seem to be himself in this film especially in the first half or so. This could be part of the reason why the movie seems a little slow in the beginning. Luckily, it does pick up nicely and how it all gets wrapped up in the end is fantastic. I say fantastic because I believe the fans will be pleased with this film overall. The storyline for this one is about as good as any of the others. It is complex and chock full of conflict. There is so much I would love to tell you but I can't, don't want to spoil it for you. I can tell you that as usual, the cinematography is breathtaking and the music is epic. Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg not having a very large resume as directors have tackled this episode of a very demanding series and have successfully kept the story alive and well. It's not the best Pirates, but I would place it between the first 3 and the 4th installment. Actually in a certain way it is reminiscent of the original film. Again, overall I believe this movie will please Pirates fans.