I was in LA when this film came out. There was a distinct lack of enthusiasm for it - as if everyone was expecting it to be bad, and to make all its money overseas, which is what happened.
It actually starts brightly enough. Brenton Thwaites is ideal as a new Orlando Bloom - he's the son of Orlando and Keira Knightley who both reappear and there's some lively stuff in some colonial town with Johnny Depp trying to escape execution and a bunch of Australian actors in the support cast: David Wenham (who does a lot of period movies), Bruce Spence, John Leary.
The plot consists of chasing after the Special Thing, with Depp causing trouble for Thwaites and his love interest Kaya Scodelario, who has a kind of feminist character (she's being trialled as a witch because she believes in science) but the point is a bit ineffective in a film where she's basically the smurfette. I don't think she's as effective as Thwaites.
Geoffrey Rush returns and Javier Badem is there in lots of make up. I wish there had been more interaction between these two and Depp, and more character stuff involving Depp and the fact that Thwaites is Bloom/Knightley's son... there's a moment where he asks Thwaites if his mother calls out Depp's name at night which was great, I wish there'd been more of it. It's a shame Knightly only did a cameo I would've loved to have her along on the journey. Maybe more with Rush and his daughter - it was so tentative.
There's no character stuff. Pirates being wacky the leads being less fun. The support characters get a line or two.
We do get a lot of effects and stunts and spectacle and Hans Zimmer's wearying score. I know the post production people put in a lot of work but it all feels so familiar. I wish they'd set it somewhere a bit different at least.
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