Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Review

I saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean last week, and I absolutely loved it. It was crazy and funny, and at times incredibly sad, but overall it was a fantastic addition to the series. Caution: There Be Spoilers Ahead. Ye Be Warned.

Part of the ship. Part of the crew.

The film begins shortly after the post credit scene from At World's End. Young Henry Turner has vowed to save his father from his terrible curse. Like father, like son, right? To do so, he decides to seek help from the notorious pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Although Will tells Henry to let him go and stay far away from Sparrow, he's too much of a Turner to simply give in.

Like father, like son. Henry is definitely a Turner.

Flash forward ten years. Henry is now a sailor in the King's Navy, although his penchant for legends seems to cause him no end of trouble. When Capitan Salazar and his crew attack Henry's ship, they kill everyone aboard, save Henry, who is tasked with taking a message to Jack Sparrow. When we finally see Jack, he's a down on his luck, landlocked drunkard who seems to be a bit lost. The Black Pearl is still trapped in a bottle and most of his crew have deserted him. To add insult to injury, he's scheduled to be executed, alongside one Carina Smyth, an astronomer and horologist who has been accused of witchcraft. (I love the scene on the way to the execution when Jack discovers his Uncle Jack, played by Paul McCartney, is also in jail. Too hilarious!)

"How bad could it be?"

The execution scene itself is full of hilarity and hijinks. And the dialogue is just too funny. Guard - "How would you like to die, Pirate? Hanging, firing squad, or a new invention, the guillotine?" Jack - "Guillotine? Sounds French. I love the French. Did you know that they invented mayonnaise? How bad could it be, it's French, eh?"

Eventually, Henry, Carina, and Captain Jack with his broken down ship and ragtag crew set sail in search of Poseidon's Trident. They are guided by a map no man can read, but fortunately, Carina is a woman. Soon, it's a race to see who will reach the Trident first, Jack, Captain Barbossa and his crew of miscreants (including two very familiar British guards from the first three movies), Capitan Salazar and his ghost crew, or the British Royal Navy, who'd like to see them all destroyed.

I won't reveal any more, but if you liked the first three films, you should definitely see Dead Men Tell No Tales. It is supposed to be the final film in the series and it provides a good stopping point for all the different characters' stories. And while I did cry through much of the end, I can't wait to see it again. Oh, and make sure to stay for the post credit scene. It made me wonder if there are more tales to tell afterall.