Clearly, there are going to be more "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, considering the massive financial incentive and the fact that the last film had a very prominent sequel hook. However, I think it's going to be a while. Star Johnny Depp is still embroiled in various scandals and the franchise has been in a critical and box office decline for the last two films. So I think it's a good time to look back and take stock of the series, film by film. I've ranked them below from best to worst. And spoilers ahead!
"The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003) - One of the best surprises that Disney ever sprang on us was the first "Pirates" film, an expectation-defying, wildly original adventure film that was so much fun to watch. Captain Jack Sparrow was instantly iconic, and Depp was so good in the part that he was nominated for an Oscar for his efforts. I always felt that the young leads were awfully bland and some of the big battle scenes were too long and chaotic, but the humor was so effective, and the plotting and dialogue were so cleverly written by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliott. There are sequences like Jack's introduction and "Why is the rum gone?" that are just flat-out classic. And that Hans Zimmer score? I couldn't get enough of it.
"At World's End" (2007) - I liked the third installment of "Pirates" considerably more than the second because it provided a clear and definite ending to the arcs of several characters, it was darker in tone, and it had a good, hateable villain. Did you ever think you'd see a Disney movie that started with a kid getting executed? I also liked the business with Jack being stuck in a bizarre limbo, and everything to do with the Brethren Court. The action is super repetitive and drawn out, unfortunately, and the massive 168 minute run time makes it feel like a slog, especially in the back half. The plotting also gets so convoluted, it's hard to keep track of what's going on. The set pieces, at least, are still a lot of fun.
"Dead Man's Chest" (2006) - Oh boy did I have some issues with this one, from the more slapsticky, cartoonish action sequences, to the endless callbacks to the first film, to lots of cringeworthy business with the island natives. Who thought it would be a good idea to do cannibal natives in this day and age? Also, aside from Will going off to find his father, the character arcs for the other leads aren't very strong or well executed. Pairing Elizabeth and Jack in any capacity was a mistake. At least Tia Dalma was pretty cool. And Davy Jones and the Flying Dutchman crew are still hugely impressive special effects creations. I like a lot of the setpieces here too, including the sequence with the hat-switching and some of the kraken attacks.
"On Stranger Tides" (2011) - Oh good grief, was that Sam Claflin playing the new kid? He was so bland, I forgot he was in the movie. And there's plenty more that I'm sure I've forgotten, as there wasn't much in the movie worth remembering. I wasn't too opposed to the idea of continuing the "Pirates" franchise, since I figured that it would be a nice opportunity for a quasi-reboot, as several characters were presumably given their happy endings. However, the new batch just weren't much fun. Claflin and Kaya Scodelario's young lovers were pretty useless. Ian McShane's Blackbeard and Salma Hayek's Angelica didn't get much to do. The departure of director Gore Verbinski was a major loss, and it showed.
"Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017) - And finally, we come to the most recent "Pirates" movie, which was also the shortest and dullest. Jack Sparrow's clowning got less and less effective with each movie throughout the series, and here you can really tell his heart's not in it anymore. There's one decent action sequence at the start, and Geoffrey Rush's reappearance as Barbossa is very welcome. Alas, the rest is a bore. I also find it disheartening that the series is not going to leave well enough alone, and wants to pull just about everyone back from the original trilogy. It might be fun for one last, big, nostalgic hurrah - but only if it's definitely the last one.
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