Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 19, 2017

Pirates of the Caribbean has been a major moneymaker for Disney, even with some steadily declining domestic box office returns. Take worldwide gross into account and the first film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, remains the low-water mark while this fifth film, Dead Men Tell No Tales, holds down fourth place. Return on investment hasn't been much of an issue, but steadily declining critical reviews are, and that proved particularly troubling during Summer 2017 that saw a steady decline in box office revenue as well as a steady stream of panned blockbusters, including this Pirates film. But there's no denying that the films have lost appeal and gained bloat (even as this is the trimmest of the franchise in terms of gross runtime) while failing to innovate, prancing around the same core qualities that shaped the first film and that has been shaping and defining the franchise ever since. Gone is the freshness, here is the staleness, a franchise that has become dependable only in its ability to recreate itself not in terms of innovation but rather recreate itself in terms of throwing the same elements onto the screen time and again.

Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) has dedicated his life to finding a way to free his father Will (Orlando Bloom) from eternal captivity on the Flying Dutchman. He believes he's found the answer: Poseidon's Trident, a powerful ancient item that can control the seas and everything therein. He ultimately teams up with an amateur astronomer and horologist, the spirited Carina (Kaya Scodelario), whose connection to the seas runs deep. He also finds himself working alongside Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), the perpetually tipsy captain who has lost much of his crew and his treasured compass. But in losing it, he inadvertently unleashes Captain Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem) and his crew of undead sailors who are seeking revenge on Sparrow, who fated them to their hellish existence many years ago.

Dead Men Tell No Tales might be new in name, but it can't shake a feeling of franchise fatigue that permeates nearly every moment. Another crew of cursed sailors made up of complex visual effects? Been there, done that. Action scenes could be dropped into any other film in the franchise and, with a few tweaks to the digital animation to swap out characters, they'd fit right in. Character moments, gags, and the movie's basic cadence feel all-too-familiar. The plot is bloated and contrived and even some main characters feel unnecessarily tacked on and thrown in, shoved to the forefront for story convenience more than anything else. The movie isn't exactly teeming with reasons to watch. Even the aforementioned special effects, as fantastic as they may be and which extend well beyond Salazar and his crew, cannot be considered a draw, not when they're just variations on the same style seen in the pervious four films and certainly not when several other overwrought Summer blockbusters are competing in the same marketplace of empty stories propped up by endless and increasingly complex visual effects. It's all window-dressing masking a dull story and largely directionless meandering for a series in need of retirement or, at least, a very long respite.

Yet even with all the negatives swirling around throughout the film's two-plus-hour runtime, a few enjoyable positives do creep in. Jack Sparrow at one point finds himself on death's doorstep, strapped into a guillotine with a couple of severed heads already in a basket in front of him. Of course he handles the situation as only he would, with some choice quips. He is ultimately rescued, quite unexpectedly and literally at the last second, in an unconventional manner that results in one of the movie's most creative and enjoyable scenes. Depp, of course, inhabits the character as only he can, verbally and physically capturing the classic Sparrow cadence like he just stepped off the first film's set; it's a career-defining character, for better or for worse, and in Dead Men he's as good as ever, even if the material limits him in many scenes. The film also features an extensive flashback to Jack's younger days, when he was first entrusted with the compass, before he became the man audiences have grown to love over the past decade and a half. Computer effects help present him as a fresh-faced teenager, essentially, and fighting his first battle against the then-living Salazar and company. It's one of the series' best sequences; it's a shame it's wrapped up in an otherwise forgettable entry that feels like it should have been two shorter films, one focused on Salazar and one on Turner's search for his father.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

As with so many of today's blockbusters and UHD releases, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales was finished at 2K and photographed at a resolution below 4K (3.4K, in this instance), yielding an upconverted 2160p 4K/HDR-enhanced image. Disney's second release to the format delivers a high yield image despite the technical details and the numbers that necessarily must be bandied about. The image on the screen proper is enjoyably robust, awash in sharp textures and well defined details that don't outdo the magnificent Blu-ray by leaps and bounds but that do deliver a tangibly more robust image. Facial definition is more dense (Barbosa in particular). Details around the ship -- rope, weathered woods, worn banners and sails -- reveal superbly complex definition and showcase the fine-point craftsmanship and labor of love that clearly went into constructing the various set pieces. Costume fabric definition is stout, revealing mildly finer texturing with the improved resolution and clarity over Blu-ray. The HDR colors offer improved saturation. There's no shortage of vibrancy, but the image is rendered a little bit darker, with shades firmer and deeper. Leafy greens are a prime example, but various shades of clothes -- particularly in scenes that take place on land, such as when Jack is first introduced in the film -- as well as other colorful bits, like orange fireballs, reveal the improved shading every time. Black levels hold deep, critical in the many nighttime exteriors and foggy low-light scenes. Flesh tones are noticeably warmer, but not excessively so; Barbosa's face is much more red. Noise and other eyesores are essentially absent. The image is very good, better than the Blu-ray by-the-numbers but considering that the Blu-ray is so good as to stand as reference-quality, fans cannot go wrong with either one.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales features a Dolby Atmos soundtrack that, compared to the Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack...isn't quite as good. Well, maybe "good" isn't the right word. It's not nearly as "dynamic." Not nearly as "punchy." The track is certainly more than technically capable, delivering finely-tuned music, carefully engineered yet rip-roaring effects, and crisply defined environmental subtleties with striking ease and perfectly immersive placement in every nook and cranny around the listening area. But when the chips are down and the track is tasked with going full-throttle action and excitement, it can't match the vigor and tenacity (or low end engagement) that the DTS track has on offer. It's not puny, but it lacks the ultra-aggressive chops that the DTS track delivers. Still, it's all in good working order, featuring pinpoint definition to everything from slight creaks and moans on board various vessels or penetrating depth to seafaring action and chaos, often intermixed with soaring musical cues. The top layer is generally used in modest support of action, but the DTS track does nearly as good a job with raw stage saturation. Dialogue is pure and refined with firm center placement beyond exacting examples of reverberation.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disney's UHD release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales contains no extras on the UHD disc. All supplements, as listed below, can be found on the bundled Blu-ray. A Disney digital copy code is also included with purchase. The UHD also thankfully ditches the annoying Disney Blu-ray chapter image that lingers on the screen for what seems like an eternity after resuming playback after pause; the image disappears instantly here.

• Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Making of a New Adventure (1080p): A seven-part feature.
  
  
  • A Return to the Sea (3:33): Cast and crew discuss returning to the franchise, making another epic film, and keeping the series fresh.
  • Telling Tales: A Sit-Down with Brenton & Kaya (8:48): The franchise's newest actors reflect on their experiences in making the movie.
  • The Matador & The Bull: Secrets of Salazar & the Silent Mary (13:38): Cast and crew discusses the antagonistic character, the visual components and digital effects, Bardem's portrayal, and more.
  • First Mate Confidential (8:48): A day in the life on the set of Actor Kevin McNally, who portrays Gibbs.
  • Deconstructing the Ghost Sharks (3:50): A short look at making one of the more interesting visuals from the film.
  • Wings Over the Caribbean (5:11): Paul McCartney makes a cameo in the film.
  • An Enduring Legacy (3:59): A short look back on the franchise.
• Bloopers of the Caribbean (1080p, 2:58).
• Jerry Bruckheimer Photo Diary (1080p, 1:40): A quick collection of still photos Bruckheimer captured on-set.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 2:59 total runtime): Highwayman, Henry Turner Learns a Lesson from Captain Jack, A Whale in Poseidon's Tomb, and Alternate Coda: Murtogg & Mallory 'Flogging'

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This ship has sailed, as the saying goes. Dead Men Tell No Tales may offer serviceable entertainment, great visual effects, and the return of fan-favorite characters, but it also offers more of the same of everything else. There's no identity, a convoluted plot, forgettable new faces, and repetitive action. And with talk of a sixth film on the drawing board and with the resounding chorus of "hang it up!" echoing along ship's deck, the filmmakers had better find a way to reinvent the franchise, though no doubt the next film will be a moneymaker, too, regardless of critical voices, franchise fatigue, or stale plot elements. It's only a question of how much it'll make. ROI, baby. Today's movie are all about ROI. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' UHD release is fine, but is it overall better than the Blu-ray? Audio-wise, no. Video-wise, yes. But the Blu-ray's picture quality is nearly as good, and the sound is much more dynamic on that aging format. That's not to say this version isn't recommended, particularly since buyers get both, but this is a case where one can make the case that the Blu-ray may be the better overall experience.