Parents' Guide to

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 12+

Talented cast can't save tired, action-heavy franchise.

Movie PG-13 2017 129 minutes
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 11+

Based on 28 parent reviews

swampfoxsouth
swampfoxsouth Parent of 10-year-old
July 31, 2022
age 11+

Sensitive younger kids won’t enjoy much

11 is perfect. Some of Salazar’s crew members have sliced off pieces of their face that may scare sensitive, younger kids. Also, there is brief swearing: "damn," "hell," "witch," "wench," and a use of "horologist." (extended to make it sound like "whore.")

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
1 person found this helpful.
Jeremiah M.
Jeremiah M. Adult
May 8, 2020
age 13+

Captain Jack Sparrow

I really enjoy this movie! I recently just got it on Blu-ray and it’s still as good as the night I saw it three years ago! One of the best Pirate movies I’ve seen! Lots of laughs, entertaining action, a story that has you on the edge of your seat! It’s brilliantly made! And it’s also overlooked. I highly recommend this movie any and all fans!

This title has:

Great role models
1 person found this helpful.
See all 28 parent reviews

What's the Story?

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES follows two young, intelligent treasure-seekers who must form an uneasy alliance with Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) to look for the one thing that will help each of them make peace with their fathers. One of them is Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the 19-year-old son of Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley, unseen) and William Turner (Orlando Bloom), who's now the cursed captain of The Flying Dutchman and can only go ashore once every 10 years. Henry believes that the mythical Poseidon's Trident can break Will's curse. So he teams up with astronomer Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), who's accused of being a witch because of her scientific knowledge. After both Carina and a down-on-his-luck Jack Sparrow (who has no ship, no crew, and no lingering fortune) are saved, the trio sets off to find the Trident. But not only are they being hunted by the Royal Navy -- who wants all three of them to hang -- but also by a more menacing crew of Spanish ghost sailors who were condemned to die because of a young Sparrow. The pirate-killing Spanish ghost captain, Salazar (Javier Bardem), wants to find and kill Jack, but he can't step on land. So Salazar allows Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) to help him track down Sparrow -- and the Trident.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (28):
Kids say (62):

Despite the fun cameos, talented cast, and Sparrow's familiar rum and innuendo-laden jokes, this movie proves that some franchises need to just end. Certainly there's a certain amount of humor to enjoy in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, particularly the sort that pays tribute to Sparrow's love of drink and women -- not to mention a celebrity cameo in which Jack thinks he's bumping into his father (Keith Richards, if you recall) in a Caribbean prison but instead realizes it's his uncle, played by arguably the most famous English singer alive. But that moment can't make up for a sloppy plot that's both convoluted and ridiculously convenient. For example, Carina may not be a real witch, but there is one, played by Golshifteh Farahani, and she manages to help whomever, whenever, for apparently no reason at all. And then orphaned Carina finds her father in the most obvious of places.

It's hard to have ill will toward toward a film franchise that can be such fun when it get things right, but at this point, these films are just formulaic. And without Knightley and Bloom as the young lovers, even the romance feels forced. Thwaites and Scodelario are both attractive, sure, but there's so more to developing romance than throwing two beautiful people in the same scene. There's just not much there, love-story wise. And the same can be said for the movie as a whole. Naturally, Bardem is always up for playing a compelling villain, but Salazar's laser-focused need for vengeance against Sparrow is borderline pathetic. It's obvious that even his own crew of pirate-killing ghost sailors wants him to get over it. It would be wonderful to think this is indeed the final Pirates movie, but considering the box-office rewards, it's possible Depp will be starring in sequels until he looks like Richards.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. How much of it is necessary to the story? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?

  • Which characters are role models in this movie? How do Carina and Henry display courage, curiosity, and teamwork? Why are these important character strengths?

  • How is drinking depicted in the movie? Is it treated lightly? What message does that send?

  • What's the appeal of the character of Captain Jack Sparrow? Do you think that appeal is as strong as it's always been?

  • What role do fathers play in the story? Why do you think fractured, missing father-child relationships are so prevalent in hero stories?

Movie Details

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