Pirates ’takes on water’
performance as the rapscallion Captain Jack Sparrow.
Variety’s Andrew Barker called it “a mercenary, visually unappealing exercise in brand maintenance” that sees the series “taking on water fast”.
“Never has a Pirates film felt this inessential, this depressingly pro forma,” he said.
“It will surely make money, and the estimated wait times for its namesake ride will spike in Disney parks worldwide ... (but) needs to make a far better case for its seaworthiness if it expects to see future voyages.”
The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore said the film, directed by Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, failed to live up to the “very high bar” set by the original. He said Depp’s “cartoonishly louche” pirate captain “now feels (appropriately) more like a theme-park mascot than a Hollywood swashbuckler”.
“Limp zingers” aside, DeFore said the film hit enough familiar notes to continue the franchise’s commercial success and keep VFX artists employed “until Depp decides he can’t be bothered any more”.
Empire’s Dan Jolin said the film was “the same ride” as its predecessors but “not nearly as fun”. “Keeping up with the nonsensical plot lurches and inconsistencies is exhausting.”
USA Today’s Brian Truitt gave the film three stars out of four and hailed it for righting the ship. Pirates 5 opens tomorrow.