Positive First reactions to ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 5’ at CinemaCon

The Walt Disney Studios unveiled the fifth installment in their “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise “Dead Men Tell No Tales” Tuesday night at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Initial reactions from those in attendance, including press, theater owners and exhibitors, were largely positive, celebrating a return to form for the franchise and the well-done VFX. Official reviews are under embargo until May 22.

The swashbuckling film sees the return of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Geoffrey Rush as Barbossa and introduces a new young cast including Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario. Javier Bardem plays a ghostly villain with a vengeance as they all search for the trident of Poseidon on the high seas. Orlando Bloom also returns as Will Sparrow, who hasn’t been in a “Pirates” film since 2007’s “At World’s End.”

“Dead Men Tell No Tales” is the first “Pirates” film since 2011’s “On Stranger Tides” and the first to be directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. To date, the franchise has grossed over $3.73 billion worldwide for the studio, and there is some pressure on this fifth film to continue the enormous successes of the previous films while also redeeming its lagging reputation.

Gizmodo writer Germain Lussier wrote that “Dead Men Tell No Tales” was the best since the first, adding that, “while that isn’t saying much, it does occasionally capture that magic.”

Collider.com editor in chief Steven Weintraub praised the action set pieces and said it was better than the fourth.

Slashfilm.com editor Peter Sciretta called it a “pleasant surprise.”

“Continues the legacy, focuses on the characters and the world,” Sciretta wrote.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” hits theaters on May 26.