Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Today’s post written by Devon!

A pirate’s life for me…

In 2003, a new movie was released; all based on the Disney park attraction “Pirates of the Caribbean.” You might remember The Curse of the Black Pearl, where this entire adventure began, and where we met our beloved Jack Sparrow… That’s Captain Jack Sparrow, to you. Fourteen years later, the fifth movie in this invigorating series was released, and I’m just as obsessed with Dead Men Tell No Tales as I was when this series first began.

The movie begins with 10-year old Henry Turner on a boat out at sea. “Wait, Henry Turner?” You might ask. Yes, Henry Turner, the adorable child of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. It’s revealed that he is looking for his father, who is still bound to the Flying Dutchman in a curse that is yet to be broken. He makes it to the exact coordinates and the Flying Dutchman is exposed, and Henry finds his father. Excitedly, Henry explains to his father that he has figured out a way to break the curse that bounds him to this ill-fated ship. Will, forlorn but touched, tells him there is no way to break the curse, and tells him to leave.

Nine years later, we find Henry working on a British Royal Navy ship. Just as tenacious and strong-willed as his parents, he tries his best to warn the captain to turn away from the Devil’s Triangle. It is made immediately clear that in all these years, Henry has done an immense amount of research about these legends. His warnings fall on deaf ears and he was thrown below the deck for treason, as the ship continued to sail into the Devil’s Triangle.

In this forbidden path, they come across a shipwreck full of undead sailors led by Captain Salazar. Once aboard the ship, Captain Salazar finds Henry along with warning posters for Jack Sparrow, and offers to spare his life if he delivers a message to Jack and tell the story of this ghostly crew.

Meanwhile, we meet Carina Smyth, who is being sent to be executed for “witchcraft,” even though it’s solely because of her extensive knowledge of astronomy and horology. She is able to escape her cell and runs into Jack while attempting to rob a bank, and then searches for Henry, knowing that his knowledge would help in finding the Trident of Poseidon. This trident will help to break the curse on Will, and Carina wants to find out who her father is along the way. The two quickly team up with Jack in order to find this Trident; while on the other side of things, Captain Salazar is reaching out to Captain Barbossa for his help in finding Jack.

This movie definitely goes back to the Pirates of the Caribbean roots; action, emotions, humor, a perfect blend of everything. And of course, who doesn’t absolutely adore Captain Jack Sparrow?

This movie goes from exhilarating action scenes, where you’re watching Jack jump back and forth on cannons in between fighting ships, and straight to humorous scenes, like an unlikely wedding. I won’t give too much away, but this definitely isn’t a wedding that you’d be rooting for.

One of the most dynamic, reoccurring points in this series is the character development of Captain Barbossa. He’s always been known as more of a “control freak” of sorts, but in this film, you see him somewhat set that aside in order to benefit other people’s agendas. You’ll definitely have to watch the movie in order to figure out more, but I will say; Geoffrey Rush, you are amazing.

Captain Salazar was originally part of the Spanish Navy, but after his shipwreck in the Devil’s Triangle, is now a maniacal pirate hunter, whose goal is to find the Triton of Poseidon and wipe out all pirates, especially Jack Sparrow. When he first entered the Devil’s Triangle, the ship wrecked, sending him and his crew into the water and ultimately drowning. But instead of their story ending there, they come back as an undead crew. His makeup took three hours each day to apply, and his facial prosthetic was handmade. You’ll see in the movie, his appearance is a beautiful, ghostly triumph.

Honestly, I just can’t get over how much I love this picture, and how much I love this scene. This is such a prime example of just how perfectly this series has balanced the amount of action versus humor. I won’t say too much, but let’s just say in this scene, Jack Sparrow’s world is being turned upside-down.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is easily as astounding as the first, and will forever be one of these movies that I can watch over and over again. I’m already excited to go see it again. I know you’re going to want to see it too, so check out the trailer below in the meantime!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales opens in theaters everywhere today, May 26th! It’s a pirate’s life for me as we’ll be seeing it again this weekend — check out this extended look trailer!