Pirates of the Carribean Salazar's Revenge : A Needless Addition

What is it with Hollywood’s obsession for big budget sequels? Barring a select few like The Godfather, Rocky, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a majority of sequels from the big franchises wane with every successive attempt. The Pirates Of The Caribbean is no different. The latest installment, which now makes it five for the series, is worse than the previous film, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which in turn was worse than its predecessor. And, so it goes on and on. If the final, post-credits scene is anything to go by, there will be a sixth part, with a possible seventh in the offing, and an eighth, if common sense doesn’t prevail. Salazar’s Revenge is not an altogether bad film; it just tends to drag for the purpose of keeping the franchise alive. The adventure is never-ending, but not nearly as interesting or fresh as the first two parts. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of the endearing and kooky Jack Sparrow has gotten a tad tiresome now. But for one or two extremely funny scenes (especially the one in which the perpetually drunk pirate is made to forcibly marry an adversary’s slovenly sister), the humour is rather predictable and stilted.
       
A young Henry visits his father, Will Turner (Bloom), in the depths of The Flying Dutchman, and tells him that he has figured out a way to reverse the curse on him. Years later, an adult Henry works for the British Navy. While on a voyage, he witnesses the captain sailing into the treacherous Devil’s Triangle, and tries talking him out of it. The captain takes no heed of the warnings, and enters the choppy waters of the danger zone. A shipwreck full of undead comes to life. Led by the Spanish Captain Salazar (Bardem), the crew comes aboard to finish off every man present, barring Henry. Henry is told by Salazar to deliver a message to the wanted fugitive, Jack Sparrow. As for Jack Sparrow, he and his old crew have just made a hash of a bank robbery. Meanwhile, a young astronomer called Carina Smyth has been sentenced to death for witchcraft. The unlikely trio of Jack, Henry, and Carina, must band together to find the Trident of Poseidon, before it gets into enemy hands.

While there are some moments in part 5 that make you recall with fondness the very first film of the series, Salazar’s Revenge, on the whole, falls short of expectations. Originality has taken a severe beating with every subsequent installment that’s been created for this franchise. And, more additions are on the way, unfortunately!