Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) review

Would you believe that it has been almost 15 years since the original Pirates of the Caribbean film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, hit theaters in the summer of 2003? Back then, it seemed like a major gamble for Disney given that it was a film based off one of the company’s most iconic ‘dark rides’. However, to the surprise of many, it became one of the biggest hits of the year. It fared greatly with both critics and audiences and, thus, launched one of the biggest film franchises in recent years. It would see three sequels released from 2006 to 2011 and while all three of these films did not fare as well as the first did in terms of critical reception, they were still monster hits at the box-office, with films 2 and 4 both grossing over $1 billion worldwide. And now, 6 years after the release of On Stranger Tides, this long-running franchise is back with a new installment, complete with a fitting subtitle that pays homage to one of the classic lines of dialogue from the ride; Dead Men Tell No Tales. While many of the primary cast and crew members from the previous films are back again, not the least of which being Johnny Depp in the lead role of Captain Jack Sparrow, there are also plenty of new faces as well, including those behind the camera. The film is directed by the duo of Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, a pair of Norwegian filmmakers who are best known for their 2012 historical drama Kon-Tiki, which earned them a nomination for Best Foreign Film at that year’s Academy Awards. And together, they manage to bring some new life into this iconic franchise. Sure, some of its perennial flaws are still apparent but, through it all, the fun spirit that the series has been known for is still there in spades.

During his youth, Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had a notable run-in with Armando Salazar (Javier Bardem), a Spanish Naval Captain who hunted pirates all over the world. After taking command of the ship that he was on, Jack managed to evade Salazar, whose ship, the Silent Mary, was destroyed when it ventured into a perilous region known as the Devil’s Triangle. However, instead of this incident resulting in their deaths, Salazar and his crew were resurrected as ghostly pirates unable to step foot on land. Thus, years later, when he and his crew finally find themselves able to escape from the Devil’s Triangle, Salazar begins his quest for vengeance against the man who ruined his life. This forces Jack, who has recently been struggling to find a ship and maintain a loyal crew, to head off on an expedition to find the only thing that can possibly stop Salazar; the mystical relic known as the Trident of Poseidon, capable of lifting any curse that has befallen a sailor on the open seas. To do so, Jack ends up in an unlikely alliance with two young adventurers who are also looking for the Trident; an eager astronomer named Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), who is the only one capable of deciphering the map that can lead them there, and Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the son of Jack’s old friends Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) Turner who seeks to use the Trident to free his father from the curse that has forever bound him to be the captain of the Flying Dutchman after the events of At World’s End.

One of the best things that I can say about this film is that it seems like the filmmakers did manage to succeed, for the most part, in their attempts to harken back to the first Pirates of the Caribbean film in terms of its overall tone and, perhaps most importantly, not succumbing to some of the major issues that critics have had with the sequels. Now, admittedly, if one were to really focus in on this film’s writing, they may indeed find some of those same issues that many say plagued the sequels. Sometimes, it does feel like the film is trying to juggle a lot of main characters at once, to the point where some don’t get much to do in the overall plot. And, sometimes, there are some plotlines that either come straight out of nowhere or just straight up don’t go anywhere (sometimes both). But, despite all this, the film still manages to not feel as bloated as something like the almost three-hour behemoth that was At World’s End. This is the shortest film in the series to date at just 129 minutes long, and that is very much a good thing. Heck, to the film’s credit, there are even a few genuinely effective emotional moments in this amidst all the wacky hi-jinx. And just like every other film in the series, this film’s technical merits are perhaps its biggest strength. Yes, a lot of the action is more CG-based this time around compared to previous films but there are still plenty of exciting action set-pieces to be found in this film that are backed by solid visuals and a fantastic production design. Say what you will about these films in terms of their writing, but for a series that’s become rather infamous for its expensive budgets (the previous two films had budgets of over $300 million each; this, thankfully, is only $230 million), they sure don’t waste that money on the screen when it comes to the technical stuff.

Obviously, Johnny Depp’s had a rough run as of late, whether it’s due to his recent (and highly scandalous) divorce or the several box office flops that he’s been in as of late. However, back in the role that earned him an Oscar nomination back in 2003, he still manages to be one heck of an entertaining screen presence. Now, to be frank, at this point you’re either still a fan of Jack Sparrow or you find him to be super annoying. As for me, I’ll admit that I am still a fan of the character, who’s still just as delightfully kooky as ever but never to the point where it personally got too annoying to me. Geoffrey Rush is also great, once again, as Jack’s old friend/foe, Hector Barbossa, while even managing to get a few subtle moments thrown in amongst some of his more exaggerated ones. This is due to one crucial plot-point, which I can’t mention here because that’s spoiler territory, that works mainly because of his overall presence in this series. As for Javier Bardem, he brings the right amount of creepiness to the role of the film’s main villain, Captain Salazar. Admittedly, though, he doesn’t really factor into the plot as much as some of the franchise’s other villains, meaning that, unfortunately, he doesn’t get much of a chance to stand out. But, on the bright side, the new protagonists in this film are welcome additions to the cast. Kaya Scodelario brings a great feistiness to the role of Carina while Brenton Thwaites gets to work with the solid emotional arc that is Henry trying to save his father, even though the film technically doesn’t focus on that plotline too much. And on that note, for those who are eager about the return of Will and Elizabeth Turner after a whole decade… you may want to temper your expectations because they really don’t factor into the plot that much. Orlando Bloom’s only in the film for three minutes or so and Keira Knightley isn’t given any lines in her brief cameo. They don’t even have a scene with Jack Sparrow, which I felt was rather disappointing.

All in all, I really enjoyed Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. While I don’t think that it’s the best entry in the series (i.e. not as good as the first three installments), I do think that, at the very least, it’s an improvement over its predecessor, On Stranger Tides. I mean, to be perfectly blunt, this film probably isn’t going to win over all of those who lost interest in the franchise due to its polarizing sequels. At the end of the day, this film does still share some of the narrative hiccups that its predecessors had, like the occasional over-complication of the plot. Still, I cannot deny how entertaining the film still managed to be, which has really been the case of all the Pirates films even with their various flaws in mind. From a visual perspective, this film is just as well-made as its predecessors and, overall, I’d say that it did its job of attempting to return to the simpler affairs of the original Pirates film. Now, last time, during my Pirates of the Caribbean retrospective, I noted that this film’s primary trailer implied that it was going to be the ‘Final Adventure’; in other words, the last installment of this series that’s been around for nearly 2 decades. However, co-director Joachim Rønning suggested that this wouldn’t be the case and… yeah, the film does end on a post-credits scene that is intent on setting up a future installment. Thus, it looks like we’ll probably be getting another installment of this series sometime in the future, and if there is another Pirates film on the way, then you can bet that I’ll be there when it comes out. Because even though the overall hype for this franchise may not be what it used to be back when the original trilogy was released, I’d argue that these are still very much a series of ‘event films’ that are worth seeing in the theater.

Rating: 4/5

Pirates of the Caribbean Series Retrospective (2003-2011)

Argh, me mateys! It’s time for another retrospective on a classic franchise that sees new life this year with an upcoming installment. And today’s franchise is a classic of this current era of franchises; one about the swashbuckling scallywags and their adventures on the high seas! “Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a Pirate’s Life for Me!” Heh, okay, I won’t be talking like a pirate throughout this entire post. But today, we are talking about the Pirates of the Caribbean films, one of the biggest film franchises in recent years… and an unexpected one at that. Because, really, the idea of turning a theme park ride into a film may seem like a crazy one depending on who you ask. That was clearly the case in 2003, when Disney decided to do a live-action adaptation of Pirates of the Caribbean, inspired by the company’s iconic theme park ride of the same name. The original Pirates of the Caribbean ride first opened in March 1967 at Disneyland in California and was the last attraction that Walt Disney himself primarily supervised before his death in December 1966. Obviously, it was a big hit with guests and the ride has since been established at multiple Disney parks around the world, arguably becoming Disney’s most iconic ‘dark ride’. Still, it seemed like a stretch when the first Pirates film was released in the summer of 2003 given the arguably absurd nature of what it was; a ‘theme-park ride’ based film. However, to the surprise of many, it was a smash hit with both critics and audiences, resulting in a few more sequels that were released over the next few years. And while the sequels did not fare as well in terms of critical and audience reception, they still proved to be monster hits for Disney at the box-office, even when considering that some of them ended up being some of the most expensive films ever made.

And this year, the series returns to the big screen for the first time since 2011 with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Supposedly, it’s the final installment of the franchise, if based only on the tagline ‘The Final Adventure’ seen in the film’s primary trailer. However, recent comments from co-director Joachim Rønning suggest that isn’t the case. After all, I’m sure that we all thought that At World’s End was the final film… and then On Stranger Tides seemed like the last one. And yet, here we are now with the fifth installment; who knows where it’ll go from here? Whatever happens, though, I am looking forward to this new installment of the franchise. I’ll admit that I generally like each of the four previous films. Granted, the sequels do have their flaws, but they also have great moments in them that ultimately make them worthwhile in the end. I may not have seen any of the original 3 films in theaters (I almost did see the first film back in 2003 during a double feature at the Rustic Drive-In along with Finding Nemo, but my family decided to leave a few minutes in because some of us were getting tired) but I do still fondly remember all the hype surrounding their releases. For one thing, I remember going on a Disney cruise right around the time when Dead Men’s Chest came out in 2006. Not only did they have the film playing in the ship’s theater (again, though, I didn’t see it then), but they also had the actual Flying Dutchman ship used in the film anchored at Disney’s private island, Castaway Cay. Sure, the hype for this franchise isn’t what it used to be but it does go to show how big the original trilogy really was. And so, in honor of the new film’s release, it’s time to embark on the seven seas alongside the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow as we look at the previous four installments of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. Savvy?

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL (2003)

We start things off, of course, with the original Pirates film, The Curse of the Black Pearl, released in 2003. As noted in the intro, there was some uncertainty surrounding this film given its status as a film that was based off one of Disney’s most iconic attractions. To put this entire situation into perspective, this was released one year after the infamous adaptation of The Country Bears, which was both a critical and commercial disaster. 2003 also saw the release of another poorly-received ‘Disney theme park’ adaptation, The Haunted Mansion. But, to the surprise of many, Pirates of the Caribbean (which, technically, was released before Haunted Mansion) proved to be one of the biggest critical and commercial hits of the summer and rightfully so as it’s a highly entertaining pirate adventure. Sure, perhaps it’s a tad bit overlong, with a runtime of over two and a half hours. And sure, maybe some of the CG effects, namely whenever the villainous pirates reveal their skeletal forms, have become rather dated compared to the effects of its sequels. Still, through it all, there’s never a dull moment in this film and, as would become common with each film in the series, the film has excellent action set-pieces, especially the sword-fighting sequences. Johnny Depp debuted one of the most famous protagonists in recent years in this film as the rogue and eccentric pirate, Jack Sparrow, and does a fantastic job in the role, so much so that he even earned an Oscar nomination for it. The rest of the cast is solid too; Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley are both excellent as the series’ main romantic leads, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, and Geoffrey Rush is enjoyably over-the-top as main villain Hector Barbossa. Thus, The Curse of the Black Pearl still holds up as a fun and adventurous film that truly surprised us all upon release.

Rating: 5/5!

“You are without a doubt the worst pirate that I’ve ever seen!” – Commodore Norrington

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST (2006)

The main thing to note about this franchise is that only the first Pirates film was a commercial AND critical success. While each of the sequels were successful commercially, they didn’t fare as well with critics compared to the original. That all started with 2006’s Dead Man Chest, once again directed by Gore Verbinski and produced back-to-back with the third film. And, to be perfectly blunt… this film gets too much of a bad rep. Sure, there are some flaws here and there. You could say that this is where one of the main issues that critics have had with the series starts to emerge; that the plots begin to get overly complicated with too many characters to follow. Plus, there are quite a few ridiculous moments throughout the film, like during the finale when ‘literally’ everyone begins to fight each other over control of the titular ‘Dead Man’s Chest’, which contains the heart of main villain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy) that can be used to control him. But, again, never a dull moment thanks to excellently choreographed action sequences, including an epic finale in which the crew of the Black Pearl battles Davy Jones’ ‘terrible beastie’, the Kraken. The cast is still great as before; the returning cast members slip back into their respective roles with ease and there are some memorable new characters as well, including Stellan Skarsgård as Will’s long-lost father ‘Bootstrap’ Bill and, as mentioned earlier, Bill Nighy as the series’ absolute best villain, the creepy tentacled pirate that is Davy Jones. Heck, the film also deserves some credit for not entirely ending on a ‘happy’ note a la Empire Strikes Back, while also culminating with an awesome cameo that further sets up the sequel. So, in short, no I don’t think that this is better than the first film. Still, I’d argue that it ain’t too far off. Thus, it’s easy to see why this became the first film in the series, and the third film EVER, to gross over a billion at the worldwide box-office. Clearly, it was one of the biggest films of its time.

   

Rating: 4.5/5

“What about Jack? I’m not leaving without him!” (*sees Jack pursued by the cannibals*) “Time to go!” – Will Turner (though I must say, it’s more hilarious in the trailer, where he’s just like “Never mind, let’s go!”)

Also…

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (2007)

When it comes to the argument that these films are overstuffed and overly-complicated, At World’s End is most likely the primary film in the series that receives the most flak for this. It’s the longest film in the series with a runtime of nearly three hours and was also the most expensive film ever made at the time, becoming the first film ever to have a budget of at least $300 million. And, admittedly, in some cases the critics are right. It IS a bit overlong and there are some instances where the plot gets overly complicated, namely during the second act where characters begin to repeatedly double-cross one another in scenes that admittedly make the film start to drag. However, once again, when this film does something great, it’s fantastic. For a film that was the most expensive film ever made at the time, it does live up to its status as a $300 million film. This is easily the biggest film in the entire series in terms of its scale, set design, visuals, and action sequences and it’s all fantastic from a technical perspective. Case in point, if you can make it through the hefty runtime, the film ends with what is easily the series’ best finale to date, as our heroes battle Davy Jones and his crew in the middle of a raging maelstrom, complete with an impromptu wedding between Will and Elizabeth ministered by Barbossa. Thus, like Dead Men’s Chest, I think At World’s End also gets too much of a bad reputation. I mean, to be fair, if I had to rank these films, admittedly this one would probably rank last amongst the original trilogy. It is somewhat of a chore to sit through at parts with a runtime that damn near rivals the Lord of the Rings films. However, I’d argue that it’s worth it for one of the best finales of any film from this past decade, making this a solid conclusion to the original trilogy of Pirates films.

Rating: 4.5/5

“Mr. Gibbs, you may throw my hat if you like!” (*Gibbs throws Jack’s hat*) “Now go and get it!” – Jack Sparrow

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES (2011)

While it seemed like At World’s End marked the end of the series, it instead returned four years later with a new installment, On Stranger Tides, inspired by a 1987 book of the same name by author Tim Powers that also influenced the popular Monkey Island series. This time around, directorial duties went to Rob Marshall, best known for directing musicals like Chicago and Into the Woods. And that experience in theater does help, in a way, when it comes to choreographing the action sequences. Like its previous installments, this film’s biggest strength is through its technical merits; cinematography, set design, visuals, etc. Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush are great, as always, and Penelope Cruz is a welcome addition to the franchise as Jack’s old flame Angelica. Ian McShane is also great in the role of the film’s imposing villain, the infamous Blackbeard. However, the film does run into a problem in terms of its overall scale, at least when compared to previous installments. After the large-scale efforts in At World’s End, this film is decidedly scaled down by comparison. This is, ultimately, both a good and bad thing. On one hand, it means that the film isn’t trying to do as much in terms of story and plot. But, at the same time, it’s still a vastly smaller scaled entry in the series, complete with a finale that’s more on par with the first film’s finale in terms of its overall scale. It truly makes you wonder how this film ended up surpassing its predecessor as the most expensive film ever made. You think At World’s End’s $300 million budget was crazy? Apparently, this film’s budget was over $400 million. And, truth be told, this doesn’t feel like that kind of film. It feels more like a $140 million film which, for the record… was the budget for the first film. Still, at the end of the day, On Stranger Tides is another enjoyable, albeit flawed, entry in this iconic series.

Rating: 4/5

“Did everyone see that? Because I will not be doing it again!” – Jack Sparrow (after jumping from a tall tower before it explodes)

And those are my thoughts on the Pirates of the Caribbean films. I recognize that I might be in the minority when it comes to those who do like these films (along with my pal Alex Corey; be sure to check out his reviews of these films over on his site), but I’d argue that these are still entertaining films despite some of their biggest flaws. Still, be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own personal thoughts on these films. And you can expect a review of Dead Men Tell No Tales sometime this week. Until then, remember…

“This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught Captain Jack Sparrow!”

Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017: Part 1 (#20-11)

Well, folks, since we’re getting closer and closer to the end of the year, I figured that it was a good enough time for me to do my annual ‘Most Anticipated Films of Next Year’ list. I’ll admit that I’m always unsure about when I should post this because some of the films that I discuss in these lists tend to get pushed back a year. Some past examples of this happening to me included my 2014 list, when Tomorrowland was apparently still intended to be released that year, and 2015 when I put Jon Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book as an Honorable Mention… and then it was pushed back to April of this year. Thankfully no instances of rescheduling have happened with any of the films that I put in last year’s list (yet…) but anyway, now it’s time to look ahead to 2017. And let me tell you… there’s quite a lot of exciting new films coming out next year. Heck, 2017’s film lineup is even more exciting than 2016’s lineup. And with that said, yes, as I’ve gone over before, there have been quite a few people on the internet who have been expressing disappointment towards a lot of this year’s film releases… but that’s another story. It’s time to look ahead at 2017 and like last year, I’ve managed to come up with not just a Top 10 but a full Top 20 list of my most anticipated films of 2017. From the newest superhero films to some very intriguing sequels, and yes even some original films are in there, you can bet that I’m excited for many of the films that will be hitting theaters next year. So, without further ado, this is Part 1 of my 2-part list of my Top 20 most anticipated films of 2017. Today I’ll be going over #20-11 but first, here are my Honorable Mentions…

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Instead of giving each of these five films their own heading, I’m just going to rattle them off here quickly. First, there’s the new reboot of Power Rangers (March 24^th). Not being a big fan of the Power Rangers franchise, despite technically being part of the generation that grew up with it, I don’t have much personal stake in this new film but I am generally curious as to how it’ll turn out. Will it be able to appeal to both long-time fans and newcomers to the franchise? Next up is the reboot of The Mummy (June 9^th), the recently-designated ‘first’ entry in Universal’s new line of monster films. It’s unclear at the moment as to how this planned ‘Cinematic Universe’ will pan out but this new take on The Mummy does sound interesting, especially considering the talent involved, including Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, and Sofia Boutella in the title role. Another reboot that I’m quite intrigued about is Jumanji (December 22^nd). For the record, this isn’t a remake of the 1995 film starring Robin Williams but is instead a sequel. I’m genuinely curious as to how it’ll connect with the original and if you ask me, you can’t go wrong with a film that stars people like Dwayne Johnson and Karen Gillan. Going into the horror genre for a moment, we have Alien: Covenant (May 19^th). Ridley Scott returns for another installment of the franchise that he helped start back in 1979 with this sequel to 2012’s Prometheus, which in turn was a prequel to the original Alien. While it will be centering on a new cast that includes the likes of Katherine Waterston and Billy Crudup, Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace will be reprising their roles from the previous film. Will this new film answer some of the unanswered questions that people had after watching Prometheus? We’ll just have to wait and see. And finally, there’s The Greatest Showman (December 25^th). Hugh Jackman will star as P.T. Barnum, who was a co-founder of what would eventually become the Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus. As someone who has many fond memories of going to see this circus as a kid whenever it came to Rhode Island, I’m definitely interested in seeing its origins represented on film. The film will also star Zac Efron, Rebecca Ferguson, and Michelle Williams.

And now we move on to the Top 20 and boy do we have a rather controversial film to start things off at #20.

20. TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT (JUNE 23^RD)

Yes, folks, you’re reading this right… I’m genuinely looking forward to the fifth entry in the highly maligned live-action Transformers franchise. I’m not afraid to admit that I am a big fan of all four of the previous films in the series. I still argue that the first one is actually really good even after everything that happened with its sequels. And yes, I still like the much critically derided sequels, including the second and fourth films which were some of the worst-reviewed films of their respective years. Sure they’re really nothing more than mindless CGI-heavy action films but I still find them to be really entertaining popcorn flicks nevertheless. So with that in mind, I’m still interested in seeing this franchise continue, which it will do so next year with Transformers: The Last Knight. Michael Bay, of course, returns to direct and this will supposedly be his last Transformers film. Though with that said, he said the exact same thing after the third film and yet he ended up doing a fourth one so who knows? Mark Wahlberg will be returning as Cade Yeager along with Stanley Tucci as Joshua Joyce, both of whom made their series debuts in the fourth film, Age of Extinction. The film will also see Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson return to the franchise as Lennox and Epps, who appeared in the original trilogy but were both absent from Age of Extinction. Like I said before, I’m very much well aware that this will probably be just as mindless as the other Transformers films. But with that said, if it is anything like those films, I’m probably going to like it anyway. Plus, I’m just curious about some of the recent reveals surrounding the film, like how it’s apparently going to involve King Arthur and even Nazis. Yes, you read that right… this new Transformers film is going to include King Arthur and Nazis. I won’t lie, folks… at this point, I’m just eagerly curious to see just what the hell they’re going to do with all of this. The only question, though, is this; will those who aren’t fans of the franchise finally get the damn hint and not go see this new film if they don’t like this series that much?  

Thought #20 was controversial? Wait until you see #19.

19. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES (MAY 26^TH)

And now we move on to another franchise that hasn’t really fared well critically when it comes to its most recent installments; Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, I’ll admit that I’m looking forward to the upcoming fifth installment, Dead Men Tell No Tales. Johnny Depp, of course, returns as the eccentric pirate Jack Sparrow as he tries to find the Trident of Poseidon to combat an old foe, the ghostly pirate Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem). Geoffrey Rush returns as Hector Barbossa while Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario debut as new characters named Henry and Carina. But perhaps the most interesting development of this new film in terms of its cast will be the return of Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, who was last seen as the new captain of the Flying Dutchman at the end of the third film, At World’s End. Sadly, Keira Knightley won’t be returning alongside him as Elizabeth. So, as I noted before, the recent Pirates films haven’t fared as well critically with both critics and audiences when compared to the first film back in 2003, one of the surprise critical/commercial hits of that year. Basically, the main reason why has been due to the common criticism that the series tends to get really overcomplicated at times with its plots. Will this be the case with the new film? Who knows? But, with a new screenwriter and a new pair of directors in Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg, directors of 2012’s Norwegian Oscar-nominated Kon-Tiki, perhaps this one will change things up a bit. The recently released first trailer does grab your attention by way of its excellent visuals and rather a dark atmosphere. Ultimately, though, it’s unclear if this will be as big of a box-office hit as the previous Pirates films given that this is the fifth installment of the series. But, at the same time, considering that two of the four films have grossed over a billion, I have the feeling that this one will still be another sizable commercial hit for the franchise.

With the next two films on this list, we have the one-two punch that is Pixar’s next two animated features. The first is the one that’ll be released later in the year but it is still shaping up to be an excellent entry in the studio’s filmography.

18. COCO (NOVEMBER 22^ND)

Of the two Pixar films that are coming out in 2017, I have the feeling that the one that most fans are looking forward to more is the one with an original story. That film is Coco, a story that takes inspiration from Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebration. Not much is known about this one yet other than the fact that it’ll revolve around a young boy named Miguel who uncovers a mystery involving his family that’s been unsolved for a century. In the director’s chair is Lee Unkrich, who’s been involved with Pixar since the original Toy Story. He helped co-direct Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., and Finding Nemo before he was promoted to the position of primary director for 2010’s Toy Story 3, and we all know how that turned out for him. The film grossed over a billion at the box-office, won another Best Animated Feature Oscar for the studio, and was also the third animated film after Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and Pixar’s own Up to be nominated for Best Picture. So clearly Pixar’s got one heck of a talented team working on this film, one that is 100% certain to produce some absolutely gorgeous visuals based around Day of the Dead. So, with all of that said, why then is it only at number 18 on this list? Well like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen any form of ‘footage’ yet and don’t know much else about it aside from the aforementioned synopsis. After all, we are still more than a year away from its release. Trust me though when I say that I am super excited to see this film, as I’ve always been for Pixar films. It’s just that I’m not one of those folks on the internet who is constantly pressuring the studio to do more original films after they did a few sequels. Speaking of Pixar sequels…

Oh boy, I’m going to get so much flak for putting this above Coco…

17. CARS 3 (JUNE 16^TH)

So why is this film, a Pixar sequel, ranked above an original story Pixar film, you ask? Well, like I said before, it’s only because we haven’t seen much from Coco yet. Granted, we haven’t seen much from Cars 3 either (aside from a recently released teaser that I’ll talk about in a bit) but being that it’s the third entry of that franchise and it’s coming out earlier in the year, we do know a bit more about it than we do with Coco at this moment. Anyway, the Cars franchise has been more of a commercial success for Pixar than it has been a critical one. It’s definitely been one of Disney’s biggest franchises in terms of merchandising, having amassed over $10 billion in sales. As for the films, though, critical reception has been a bit more mixed. The first Cars film, at the very least, did fine with critics. Granted it wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the studio’s other films but it still did fairly well at around a 74% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The second film, however… was the company’s first negatively received film. It got to the point where some people treated it like it was a criminal offense. How dare Pixar make an animated film that wasn’t a complete 15/10 masterpiece? I’m not kidding, people actually made that analogy online. And now as a result, whenever a Pixar film doesn’t get at least a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes (e.g. Brave, Monsters University, The Good Dinosaur), it’s immediately seen as a disappointment. But in Pixar’s defense, from what I’ve heard the second Cars film was a bit rushed because of the pressure to be finished by its planned release date. And while I’ve only seen it once, I remember liking it okay.

So, with that said, I do believe that Cars 3 does have the potential to redeem the film franchise. After Cars 2 took a major detour story-wise by going on a world tour and having a rather random subplot involving secret agents, Cars 3 is set to return to the series’ roots of celebrating small-town Americana. The film is being directed by Brian Fee and while this is his first film as a director, he’s been involved with Pixar, and most importantly the Cars franchise, for quite a long time as a storyboard artist. Many of the main characters of the franchise will no doubt be returning in this film, including main protagonist Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson). Per the film’s currently released premise, at this point, McQueen is now a racing veteran who must now contend with a new generation of racers to prove that he’s still one of the best. You can most certainly sense that from the film’s first teaser, which strikes an effective emotional chord by showcasing what will surely be a devastating crash that Lightning is involved in. So, in short, as I stated earlier, the Cars franchise isn’t as well-liked as some of Pixar’s other franchises, especially after Cars 2 was so critically derided. But, also like I said before, I think that this new Cars film does have the potential to at least be an improvement over the previous film, especially since, from a story perspective, it’s going to be more like the first film, which I do think is underrated. And while I do have the feeling that Coco will probably be the better-received of Pixar’s two 2017 releases, I’m still very much looking forward to the continuing adventures of Lightning McQueen and company.

Ride or die…

16. FAST 8 (APRIL 14^TH)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe that the Fast and Furious franchise will soon be releasing its eighth (!) installment. Who’d thought that a franchise that originally started all the way back in 2001 would still be going strong today more than one and a half decades later? Not only that, but this is one of the rare cases in which the sequels increasingly got better and better, namely the ones directed by Justin Lin. Fast Five and Fast and Furious 6 were the first installments of the franchise to perform solidly with critics and both films were huge hits at the box-office. And then there was Furious 7. James Wan took over as director and the film managed to become the first of the franchise to gross over a billion. Though of course, part of that was no doubt due to the film being the send-off of star Paul Walker, who tragically passed away in a car accident before filming was complete. But this series isn’t over yet and now we’ve got Fast 8, which will take Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto and his crew to New York. Once again they’ll contend with Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw as well as a new villain played by Charlize Theron. Once again there’s a change in director but the new director is quite promising; F. Gary Gray, who’s coming off of 2015’s hit biopic Straight Outta Compton. And from what I hear, this new film is going to shift focus in terms of ‘genre’. While the first few Fast and Furious films were simple street-racing stories, Fast Five shifted gears (no pun intended) and became a heist film. But as for this new film, it will apparently be more along the lines of a spy caper. And for the record, yes, you never go into these films for the plot but still, it’s going to be interesting to see what they’re going to do next in terms of action. Pair that with the always excellent camaraderie of the main cast and you’ve got what is sure to be another big hit for the franchise.

The one and only Edgar Wright will have a new film out next year. And it lands the #15 spot on this list.

15. BABY DRIVER (AUGUST 11^TH)

Edgar Wright is a filmmaker who needs no introduction. He’s given us some of the funniest comedies of the past few years, namely his Cornetto Trilogy; 2004’s Shaun of the Dead, 2007’s Hot Fuzz, and 2013’s The World’s End. While all three films are different in terms of genre, with the only real ‘connection’ between them being the appearance of Cornetto ice cream in one way or another, they’re all excellent send-ups of their respective genres; zombie films, buddy cop action films, and sci-fi films. Of course, as we all know he almost directed Ant-Man for Marvel Studios last year but he ended up dropping out due to creative differences. And you know what? I think that it’s actually a good thing that this happened. It allows Wright to have full creative control over his work instead of having to deal with a ‘creative committee’, which was still in effect at Marvel Studios at the time. And this will certainly be the case with his new film, Baby Driver. Described as a crime drama that was apparently inspired by an old music video that Wright made back in 2003 for the band Mint Royale, the film will center around a young, silent getaway driver (Ansel Elgort) as he ends up partaking in a heist gone wrong. The film will also star Lily James as the driver’s girlfriend, Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm as members of a gang of bank robbers, and Kevin Spacey as a crime boss. Music will also no doubt play a huge part in the film as the main character Baby is being described as ‘music-obsessed’ and I’m excited to see what kind of soundtrack Wright comes up with for the film. But of course, at the end of the day, the main selling point of the film is the fact that it’ll be another film from the master of ‘visual’ comedy, Edgar Wright.

As Harry Hart once said, “Manners. Maketh. Man”.

14. KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE (OCTOBER 6^TH)

Matthew Vaughn gave us one of the most entertaining films of 2015 in the form of Kingsman: The Secret Service. Based on the comic series of the same name by Mark Millar about a young delinquent who is recruited into a spy organization, the film was a stylish ode to the classic spy films of the 60’s (e.g. the Bond films) complete with awesome action and a great cast. And next year will see the release of a sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Matthew Vaughn returns to direct and the major players of the first film will return to reprise their roles, including Taron Egerton as ‘Eggsy’, Mark Strong as ‘Merlin’, and… Colin Firth as Harry Hart? Yes, despite being (SPOILERS!) killed off by Samuel L. Jackson’s Valentine in the previous film, Firth will be back for this film in some as-of-yet unknown form. Did he fake his death? After all, one of the teaser posters (featured above) is an image of a pair of glasses that Hart wore in the first film (with one of the lenses taken out) that are positioned in front of a quote saying that “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” At this point, who knows? Anyway, the film will see Eggsy and co. heading to America, where they’ll be teaming up with their US counterparts, the Statesmen. New additions to the cast include Halle Berry and Channing Tatum as Statesman agents, Jeff Bridges as the head of Statesman, and Julianne Moore as the new main villain. I absolutely loved Kingsman: The Secret Service so you can bet that I’m excited to see another installment of this stylish spy thriller franchise.

My #13 pick is one of the biggest question marks of 2017’s film lineup. However, I’m still rooting for it to succeed despite the odds that are currently against it.

13. JUSTICE LEAGUE (NOVEMBER 17^TH)

I still have hope, folks, which I know is something that’s rather questionable at the moment for many people after DC’s two 2016 releases, Batman v Superman and Suicide Squad, both performed horribly with critics and were generally polarizing amongst audiences as well. However, I’m confident that their 2017 output will fare much better, especially now that Geoff Johns has taken over control of the franchise. In other words, he’s become DC’s ‘Kevin Feige’ and that will no doubt help the DC Extended Universe moving forward. And sure, Zack Snyder is still back as the director but I have faith in him to succeed with this long-awaited adaptation of DC’s iconic superhero team, the Justice League. The first ‘trailer’ that was released during Comic-Con showed off a different kind of film compared to Batman v Superman. Instead of being a generally serious/dark superhero flick, this new film looks much more light-hearted in tone as primarily seen in some of the interactions between characters, like when Batman and Wonder Woman discuss the former’s rather failed attempt to recruit Aquaman and with Bruce Wayne’s first encounter with Barry Allen AKA The Flash. Newcomers Jason Momoa and Ezra Miller (though I use the term ‘newcomers’ loosely because they both cameoed in BvS) are also shaping up to be excellent new additions to the cast as Aquaman and the Flash, respectively. Granted this change in tone doesn’t mean that this new film is trying to be exactly like the films of Marvel Studios but it certainly looks like the filmmakers are, at the very least, aware of the problems that people had with BvS (the theatrical cut, at least). It may be unclear at the moment if DC will be able to turn their luck around with both this and their other 2017 film (which, spoilers, will be appearing in Part 2 of this list) but I’m still confident that they’ll be able to make it work with Justice League. I may be a bigger fan of the MCU but I genuinely want Justice League to succeed just as much as everyone else.   

One of the most iconic castings of the superhero film genre will be back for one last go in this, my #12 pick.

12. LOGAN (MARCH 3^RD)

Hugh Jackman is Wolverine; no doubt about it. Ever since he was first cast in the original X-Men film back in 2000, he’s become one of the most successful superhero casting choices of all-time. He quickly became the most popular character in the franchise, even if it did come at the occasional expense of other characters’ development, and has appeared in every X-Men film to date, even if it was just for an awesome cameo like in First Class and Apocalypse. But with his next X-Men film and the third Wolverine spin-off, Logan, this will be Jackman’s final turn in the title role. James Mangold returns to direct this film after helming the second spin-off, 2013’s The Wolverine. And just like how that film was based on an iconic Wolverine storyline of the same name from the comics, this one will also be inspired by another big Wolverine-centered storyline, one that I bet a lot of fans have been waiting to see done on the big-screen; Old Man Logan. For those unfamiliar with this storyline from 2008 written by Mark Millar, it’s basically Wolverine’s Dark Knight Returns as it centers on him years into the future. Plus, while the last Wolverine film grappled with going all-out as an R-rated Wolverine film, though ultimately it only did so in the form of the Extended Cut which was released when the film hit home video, by all accounts it appears that this will be the R-rated Wolverine film that fans have been waiting for.

They recently released the first trailer for the film and I must say that it looks fantastic. One of the best things about director James Mangold’s superhero films is that they’re more than just ‘superhero films’. The Wolverine, being set primarily in Japan, featured a lot of great Japanese elements in it. In the case of Logan, it’s clear that he’s going for something out of a western. And you can totally see that in the trailer, especially with the use of a Johnny Cash song, ‘Hurt’, a fitting choice seeing how Mangold directed the Johnny Cash Biopic Walk the Line in 2005. The story, set years in the future where it’s established that something happened to most of the mutant population (possibly because of Wolverine as deduced by the line “Logan, what did you do?”), sees Wolverine and Professor X (again played by Patrick Stewart in what will no doubt be his final turn in the role as well) having to protect a young girl named Laura (known in the comics as Wolverine’s clone, X-23) from a group known as the Reavers. Now despite what I said earlier, it’s becoming clear that this isn’t a direct adaptation of Old Man Logan. But, to be fair, it’s hard to do an adaptation of that now given the appearances of characters who are currently over in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, as someone who isn’t a big comic reader, I’m not bothered by this. Really, it’s the overall execution of the film itself that matters the most. And thanks to an international red-band trailer, we can now rest easy knowing that the film will indeed be R-rated and that the filmmakers are truly going ‘all-out’ with this one. But at the end of the day, I must say that this first trailer really delivers in terms of hitting you on an emotional level. And that’s a feeling that I bet a lot of people will have when we go to see this; the last go for one of the greatest leads in the history of the superhero film genre. It’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster.

And closing out the lower half of the Top 20 is the latest film from Ben Affleck. Director Ben Affleck, to be more precise…

11. LIVE BY NIGHT (JANUARY 13^TH)

While Ben Affleck is currently pre-occupied with being the DCEU’s Batman, 2017 will see the release of his latest directorial effort, his first since he won Best Picture for his 2012 film, Argo. Despite having only directed three films to date, Affleck’s proven himself to be one of the top directors in the industry thanks to 2007’s Gone Baby Gone, 2010’s The Town, and Argo. For his newest film, Affleck takes on his second adaptation of a story by author Dennis Lehane after Gone Baby Gone; Live by Night. Affleck stars as Joe Coughlin, the son of a Boston police captain who moves to Florida and ends up becoming a gangster. The film also stars Zoe Saldana as Coughlin’s girlfriend, Sienna Miller as his mistress, and Brendan Gleeson as his father along with Elle Fanning, Chris Cooper, and Chris Messina. I should probably note, though, that even though this film’s current wide release date is January 13^th, 2017, it will see a limited release this Christmas, effectively qualifying it for this year’s awards circuit. So, technically, that would mean that this is a 2016 film… so why then is it in this ‘Most Anticipated of 2017’ list? Well, simply put, I had first made this list before this film got its limited release date. Plus, I don’t know just yet if I’m going to be able to see this film before the year’s through so for now, it stays on this list. But, regardless of when I see it, it’s safe to say that I am really excited to see Affleck’s next directorial effort.

And that concludes Part 1 of my Top 20 Most Anticipated Films of 2017 list. Thanks for following along and be sure to come back tomorrow when I post Part 2 and list my Top 10.

The Lone Ranger (2013) review

When ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’ was released in 2003, no one really expected a film based off of a Disney ride to be that much of a hit. But, to everyone’s surprise, it was, and it soon led the way to three more sequels (two of which have passed the billion dollar mark at the box office). This year, the main crew behind the ‘Pirates’ series (star Johnny Depp, director Gore Verbinski, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio) reunite for a modern adaptation of ‘The Lone Ranger’, a series that got its start as a radio program back in the 30’s, which later spawned a TV show and a couple of movies. It seems like the filmmakers are hoping that this film will start up a new film franchise the same way ‘Pirates’ did a decade ago. However, with most critics giving the film negative reviews and a less than stellar performance at the box office so far, it’s probably unlikely. However, this film is actually better than what critics have been saying right now. Sure, it’s not perfect, mainly because of length and script issues, but it’s a fun movie that manages to get by despite its flaws.

The story, as told by an elderly Indian named Tonto (Johnny Depp) to a kid in 1930’s San Francisco, takes place in Texas in 1869 and follows John Reid (Armie Hammer), a lawyer who ends up being recruited to the Texas Rangers by his older brother Dan (James Badge Dale). John joins his brother and their fellow Rangers on a mission to find and capture notorious outlaw Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner). The Rangers end up getting ambushed by Cavendish’s men and are all killed, including Dan. John, however, survives and after meeting with the younger Tonto, learns that he is a ‘Spirit Walker’, a man who has ‘been to the other side’ and cannot be killed in battle. Looking to enact revenge on Cavendish for the death of his brother, John teams up with Tonto (who is also looking to find Cavendish for his own reasons) and takes up the persona of the masked vigilante, ‘The Lone Ranger’.

The biggest problem this movie has is that it’s too long. The movie is about 149 minutes long and that’s just too much for a film with a script that is just not strong enough for a film of that length. This movie would have worked much better had it been trimmed by about half an hour because the main plot is a fairly simple story when you think about it. The main character seeks revenge on the villain for the death of his brother; that’s pretty much it. But it seems like the writers ended up adding in more besides that, which is why the movie is this long. There are two other villains beside Cavendish; a railroad tycoon (Tom Wilkinson) and a corrupt Calvary captain (Barry Pepper). The inclusion of Wilkinson’s character actually does work in regard to the story, but Pepper’s character is really just… there to be a villain. The way the whole narrative is set up is also rather awkward too, because there are certain points where the kid who the elderly Tonto is telling the story to interrupts him, and the Tonto from back then even looks to the camera acknowledging this as well, which really makes no sense. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it could have been handled a bit better.

But the main thing that keeps this movie together is its two leads. Depp and Hammer work off each other very well and they have really good camaraderie, resulting in a good amount of humor. As Tonto, Depp is pretty much channeling his ‘Jack Sparrow’ persona again here, but it still works very well and he is responsible for the majority of the humor in this film because of how ‘eccentric’ he can be. As the Lone Ranger, Hammer is perfectly cast in the role, displaying the right level of charm and wit, especially when working alongside Depp. Finally, there’s a nice supporting cast to back them up, including William Fichtner (properly menacing as Butch Cavendish), James Badge Dale (who’s having quite a year so far, appearing in 3 blockbuster movies; Iron Man 3, World War Z, and this), Ruth Wilson as Dan’s wife Rebecca (who has a bit of romantic connection to John as well), and Helena Botham Carter as the owner of a brothel who also has a connection to Cavendish.

Right now, ‘The Lone Ranger’ stands at 23% on Rotten Tomatoes and to that I say this… this movie is not as bad as that rating may seem. For the record, I’m not saying the movie’s perfect. It does suffer mainly from a length problem because for a movie that is about two and a half hours long, the script just doesn’t have enough in it to justify that length. But the movie still manages to work mainly for one main reason; it’s fun. If you’re able to go into this movie and not take it too seriously, then I guarantee that you’ll have a good time. This can also serve as a nice introduction for a new audience to this character, namely because there hasn’t been anything related to the Lone Ranger for at least three decades. Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer do work together quite nicely, and I would look forward to seeing them do another film in this series; just make sure that, if they do another ‘Lone Ranger’ film (which may not happen if the movie bombs at the box office), don’t make it two and a half hours long.

(On a side note, this movie does have a bit of a ‘post-credits’ stinger, but believe me… there’s not much to it.)

Rating: 3.5/5