Mixed reviews for Pirates of the Caribbean 5

The reviews are in for the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge’, but is it a case of hoisting the main sail? Or swabbing the poop deck?

Well, they’re a mixed bag, let’s put it that way.

With a fair few notices already in, the majority of critics remained rather unimpressed with this fifth movie in Disney’s behemoth of a franchise.

Reviews aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes currently has the movie at a 35% approval rating (at the time of publishing), which is rather on the lowly side.

Empire writes: “Not the return to form you might have been hoping for. Its story might cover all the same beats as the 2003 original, but there’s little of that film’s spark or spirit.

Adds The Guardian: “Dead Men Tell No Tales moves at a faster rate of knots than any Pirates film; trouble is, nothing has really been added. It’s the same soggy ride, set to a marginally preferable speed.”

The Hollywood Reporter is perhaps less charitable still, writing: “Depp remains wholeheartedly the focus of this fifth Pirates film, and saying the character’s loopy novelty has faded is like complaining that there are maggots in the below-decks gruel: You knew what you were getting when you came aboard.”

In agreement, Variety says: “The franchise has lost a bit of its luster with every successive installment, but never has a ‘Pirates’ film felt this inessential, this depressingly pro forma.”

“Poor chemistry between Thwaites and Scodelario… dampens the affair, leaving Depp with too much to do,” writes The Independent.

“Perhaps, if Salazar’s Revenge was our first time meeting Jack Sparrow – or perhaps if Disney had left the franchise alone for another 30 years, like Star Wars – the film would have felt fresh. As it stands, Salazar’s Revenge but lacks the spark that made the original 2003 flick so beloved.”

Still, there are still some willing to give it a break.

A ‘B-‘ review on Indiewire explains: “Maybe it’s nostalgia or the fact that nautical adventures remain far less common in the multiplex than superhero fare, but the series’ central charm is precious cargo whose returns have yet to entirely diminish.”

The Daily Mirror adds: “Setting a mercifully brisk pace for the often long winded adventures, the story reaches a safe berth in a little over two hours.”

The Daily Telegraph summed it up as ‘A mostly fun partial reset, but this series needs to slip its moorings and make for new horizons’.

None of the previous ‘Pirates’ movies have failed to make money, in fact two of them, ‘On Stranger Tides’ and ‘Dead Man’s Chest’, have made over $1 billion, so it’s likely that ‘Salazar’s Revenge’ will still do brisk business, whatever the reviews.

It’s due out on May 26.

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