Swashbuckler tale told with no muscle

MOVIE: Dead Men Tell No Tales STARRING: Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem

RATING: M SHOWING AT: Grand Central/The Strand REVIEWER: Vicky Roach

IN THE film industry, Dead Men Tell No Tales is what is known as a soft reboot (same swashbuckling universe, enough new blood to oxygenate it without disturbing the equilibrium).

In this case, the description is particularly apt since the fifth instalment in the phenomenally successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise lacks muscle tone.

Harry Potter is a rare example of a movie franchise that successfully sustained its original integrity – and JK Rowling had conjured up colourful, interrelated characters for filmmakers.

The film really only has captains Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) and Sparrow (Johnny Depp). The latter has been teetering on the edge of parody for five films now and he’s not quite as nimble as he used to be.

In this latest instalment, Barbossa, too, is a shadow of his former self (14 years of pillage and plunder will do that to a man).

Providing the moral compass for the latest adventure is Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), son of Will (Orlando Bloom).

Determined to break his father’s curse, the adventurer sets off in search of Captain Sparrow, whom he believes holds the key.

Along the way, he makes a deal with Javier Bardem’s vengeful, supernaturally decomposing villain Captain Salazar, who has sworn to seek out and destroy every pirate at sea.

Henry also encounters feisty proto-feminist astronomer Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), whose knowledge of the heavens leads the sailors to the Trident of Poseidon, the possessor of which has total control over the seas.

But not even a change of directors can alter this oceanic monster’s destructive course.

Dead Men Tell No Tales is now screening.