We are in the middle of summer movie season, so what better time than now to rank a group of summer blockbuster movies? This week I will talk about the Pirates of the Caribbean films. I hold this franchise near and dear to my heart because of the characters, the action, the comedy, and well… the pirates. Who doesn’t love a good pirate movie? Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot to choose from until Disney decided to make the first one based on one of their rides, but now we have five of them (…and hopefully more later?). I can still remember sitting in the theater watching the Curse of the Black Pearl and having a tremendous time. So, without further parley… I mean delay, let’s get to my rankings of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) – Bringing up the last spot is the third movie of the original trilogy. It is a tough choice to put this in the last spot for a few reasons. Having the entire original cast come back for a third time, Bill Nighy as Davy Jones, that epic final battle between the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl are all great reasons, but there is even more against it. The whole story of Jack Sparrow at World’s End and the journey to free him goes on too long. It also bothers me that so many ships show up for the final battle and then proceed to do nothing. Finally, don’t even get me started on the Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley) storyline. I can get past some of her amazing sword-fighting (even though it’s a stretch), but the fact that over the course of three movies, she goes from a helpless Governor’s daughter to a Pirate King is beyond silly, even for these films. Then she just goes back to being a normal person? Since the Brethren Court can never choose a new king, will she always be it? The whole thing just doesn’t work for me and because of that, this one ends up in my fifth spot.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) – I honestly don’t have a lot of bad to say about this installment, which is why it beat out “At World’s End” for the fourth spot. Johnny Depp is back as Sparrow, Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa, and Kevin McNally as Gibbs. They and a slew of others give us plenty of familiar characters while also introducing us to a few new ones. Henry Turner played by Brenton Thwaites and Carina Smyth played by Kaya Scodelario bring some new blood to the franchise… by playing offspring of the old blood. Nothing real spectacular takes place here, but nothing bad either. Javier Bardem makes a creepy villain, they try to finish off Barbossa’s story arc in a heroic way, and Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) gets a bigger role this time, but other than that, it’s the same level of humor and action that we’ve come to expect in this series.
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) – To be completely truthful here… this movie could almost go in the number two spot. I love this movie and the story is fun to watch fold out. Is Barbossa really a captain in the Royal Navy? Was Jack really in love with someone? It’s also a nice twist on the Fountain of Youth tale. But, the real winners here are Ian McShane as Blackbeard and Penélope Cruz as Angelica. They are both phenomenal entries into this franchise and I hope to see Angelica reprise her role again at some point. As much ruthlessness and vile nature, as we’ve seen throughout the first three films, Blackbeard takes it to a whole new level that is just masterful to watch. Sam Claflin as Philip Swift and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as Syrena add another level to the story-telling that some of the earlier movies were missing as well. It loses points though for failing to bring back so many of the franchise’s familiar faces (I’m looking at you Pintel and Ragetti). Overall, it’s great fun and I just love the Whitecap Bay scene.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) – These last two are pretty easy to sort out. “Dead Man’s Chest” picks up a little bit after the events of the first film with Jack now Captain of the Black Pearl again. Amazingly, every single character was able to reprise their roles for this sequel, including a fun cameo by Barbossa at the very end. Having the whole cast return and introducing Davy Jones and Tom Hollander as Lord Cutler Beckett was just great. Lots of well-thought-out sword-fighting scenes, plenty of humor, and just a touch of that Disney pirate magic make this one a joy. Character development is also key in this one with James Norrington (Jack Davenport) playing a bigger role but in a much different way. In the end, it doesn’t quite live up to its predecessor, as it’s more of a setup movie for part three, but there is still plenty here to love.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) – Was there any doubt was number one was going to be? Not only is this the one that started it all, but it’s also still the best one. This is where we meet Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa for the first time. Back when Elizabeth Swan wasn’t a pirate lord and Will Turner wasn’t a pirate captain. The story of the cursed treasure and how they look in the moonlight is fun. Watching Sparrow spin his web of lies and manipulation is genius and is Jonny Depp at his best. Honestly, the whole cast is amazing, and they all get a nice introduction since most of them will reprise these roles two more times. If this one wasn’t so good, I don’t know if we would have four more sequels, so thankfully it did great. Overall, this is not only a great movie to start this franchise, but it’s a great standalone movie as well. Plus, because of this we finally had a good pirate movie to watch repeatedly.
So, there you have it for my rankings for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.? What is your opinion of this franchise? How would you rank them differently if you don’t agree with me? For now, I’m going to stick to the pirate code and get out of here, besides it’s more of a guideline anyway, right?
Also, if you haven’t done so, check out my other lists here or some of my other reviews as well here.
