In a franchise’s lifetime, there comes a time when directors, writers, and actors have to reinvent what their material is or die in a heap of box office rubble. Most would agree that such an undertaking should happen after the third or fourth sequel. One thing’s for sure: franchises go stale if they don’t do anything new. Just watch the latest Fast and Furious films where cars and races were replaced with superspies and more protein than a porterhouse steak.
Even despite the effort, a reinvention’s success is only marginally better than staying on the same course. For one successful Fast and Furious, there’s a plethora of clunkers like Jason X, Alien vs. Predator, and Home Alone 4. Luckily, with the amount of good writers circulating throughout Hollywood, reboots, remasters, and style pivots are starting to become watchable. Disney, for one, has crowned itself king of the rehash by churning out recent hits like Cinderella, the new Star Wars trilogy, and Marvel movies that improve and change tones one after the other.
Now, Disney is once again attempting to milk more from an existing franchise through Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge (or Dead Men Tell No Tales, in other regions).
Better than before
Say what you will about the Pirates franchise, but nothing tops Gore Verbinski’s vision for the swashbuckler trilogy. It was an amazing blend of the pirate’s life, epic action, and witty comedy. Now that his story is completed, there’s really nowhere for the franchise to go. The fourth entry, On Stranger Tides was a blundering mess of a movie. Salazar’s Revenge picks up after Rob Marshall’s mess and attempts to jumpstart a new “final adventure” for everyone’s favorite pirate.
Pirates 5 is, at least, better than its predecessor. Some might say that this isn’t saying much, but as long as it’s improving on the previous movie, it’s going on the right track. Sadly, it still pales in comparison to the Verbinski trilogy.
This pirate action-adventure film comes off as less “pirate” and more “action-adventure.” That could be a good thing if Dominic Toretto’s move from hustler to superspy is anything to go by. But often, it’s not. Salazar’s Revenge is a fine movie and I enjoyed every second of it. That being said, I still feel that something was lost along the way. Most of the film felt like your standard action blockbuster movie, rather than anything swashbuckling.
If anything, Salazar’s Revenge has the fun and hilarity that the original Pirates trilogy had. The first half was spent mostly on laughing and marking hard on nostalgia. One can almost forgive the tremendous helping of action that was shoehorned in.
Fast and furious of the Caribbean
Unlike the original trilogy’s soft opening sequences, Salazar’s Revenge crashes through the front door, guns blazing. Besides some short exposition scenes, the film wastes no time establishing its new heroes, Henry Turner and Carina Smyth, with action scenes. When the franchise’s lead star, Jack Sparrow, pops up, it’s also in adrenaline-filled fashion as he and his crew proceeds to steal a bank (no, not the money inside, but an actual bank building). In a sequence so absurd it might as well have been on Fast and Furious, Jack Sparrow sleigh-rides an entire bank through the streets of St. Martin. Michael Bay couldn’t have written this even if he tried.
It’s still hilarious, mind-numbing, and aesthetically appetizing. But one too many action scenes can derail an entire movie. The movie does not let up with attention-seeking sequences. By the movie’s halfway point, you’re probably too tired to even think of what’s happening on-screen. It’s exhausting. The movie starts at full speed but ends running on fumes. There’s so much to process but so little to remember.
Salazar’s Revenge amps it up on the action without learning much of what made the original trilogy’s self-contained action scenes memorable. Who can forget the threeway fight scene atop the spinning wheel from Dead Man’s Chest? Or the undead Barbossa fight from Curse of the Black Pearl? Or the final ship battle from At World’s End? These scenes are so memorable on their own. Salazar’s Revenge falls quite a bit short as it replaces pistols and cutlasses with bombast and explosions. It’s pure action and less heart. I miss the harmonious clang of swords, the swell of the theme music, and the witty repartee exchanged by combatants.
Hinging on nostalgia
Salazar’s Revenge isn’t a great movie. It’s a good movie. What keeps it from going bad is its perfectly timed use of nostalgia. I loved seeing old favorites back on screen. Jack Sparrow, Mister Gibbs, Marty, the two British officers from the first film, Barbossa. Even if their roles were altered from their previous ones, seeing them on screen again was a treat.
Much can be said about some of the film’s new characters. Captain Salazar was a great villain carried by Javier Bardem’s performance. Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario) was notable as the woman of science smarter than most of the crew. Not much can be said of young Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), however. While he had the most established stake in the plot, Turner is just a carbon copy of Will Turner’s character with zero charisma.
Every character in the film had a goal. When they get the chance, each character’s motive is clearly established. But besides exposition, there’s not much to go upon. They didn’t act with a sense of urgency that established their personalities. They were just there fighting. At the end, you just forget what exactly they were fighting for as you ride this entire film from explosive beginning to fiery ending.
At the end of the day, Salazar’s Revenge is a passable movie that at least improves on its hideous predecessor. It’s not great, but it’s extremely watchable. If this truly is the last Pirates movie, it ends on a good note. If not, at least there’s still hope for a better sequel to Verbinski’s masterpieces.
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