DARKMATTERS - The Mind of Matt

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Monday, May 29, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge



Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge (12a)

Dir Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20)

“ The dead have taken command of the sea. They're searching for a girl, a Pearl, and a Sparrow!”

Yo-ho, yo-ho a pirate’s life for cinema viewers again – for the 5th time!?

Yes that loveable rascal Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back and this time finds the winds of ill-fortune blowing on him even more strongly than in his previous sea-faring scrapes. It seems that a crew of deadly ghost pirates led by his old nemesis, Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), have escaped from the Devil's Triangle… Now every pirate at sea is a marked man and it’s not long before the pirate terminating baddies start to close in on Jack – aided by another of enemy Captain Barbossa (Geoffery Rush).

"ghost pirates ahoy"

What’s a rum sozzled pirate to do but try and find a mythical, all powerful artifact that bestows upon its possessor total control over the seas… So the race is on to try and find the legendary Trident of Poseidon. That’s pretty much the plot.

Along the way Captain Jack teams up with Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), - son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) who is still languishing on the cursed Flying Dutchman and cool 'girl power' Carina Smith (Kaya Scodelario), a pretty astrologist and horologist who, due to her intelligence that scares the men around her is deemed to be a witch.

"she's no witch"

This new Pirates movie could have been a cash in but it's pleasing for fans to find that there has at least been some effort put in to make it tie up lots of loose plot points from the franchise so far… It works a lot better than the last instalment which I’ve already forgotten but there’s nothing here except for a superb opening bank heist that’ll be regarded as classic scenes in the Pirates world.

I caught this is 4DX and the sensations of being literally sprayed with waves, rolled in my seat on the high seas and blown by the gusts of storm winds really added to the fun. Without that extra stimulation it might all feel a little flat however. Also Depp’s Captain Jack has become a parody of himself – his perma-drunk status and unfunny jokes aren’t as fun as they used to be…

"zombie sharks are cool"

The good news is that series newcomer Scodelario stands out and steals all her scenes – she’s a much more believable heroine than the still lovely Keira Knightley (who pops up at one point for old times sake). Also really strong – but under used is Bardem who seems to be building a catalogue of iconic film villains.

"pocket sized pirate ships..."


All aboard for lightweight piratey fun then…

Out of a potential 5, you have to go with a Darkmatters:

ööö

(3 - Decent in parts but no classic)

Awesomeness ööö – Almost gets awesome at times

Laughs öö –  The mirth is very hit and miss

Horror ööö – A bit scary and grim in places

Spiritual Enlightenment öö - Limited

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