PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES 4k UHD and Blu-ray Review

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Will Turner has been the captain of the Flying Dutchman ever since he took Davy Jones’ place years ago.  His son, Henry, has been trying to figure out a way to break the curse to return him home.  The 12 year-old Henry finds a way to get onto his father’s ship and tells him his plan. He also tells him that there is a way to break the curse: the Trident of Poseidon. 
 
Nine years later, he is with the British Royal Navy but is locked in the brig for attempted mutiny because the ship he is on is in pursuit of an enemy.  They are headed for a cursed area called Devil’s Triangle once inside; a ghost crew from the Silent Mary obliterates them.  Captain Salazar and his crew are very dead and very vengeful of the same man that Henry is looking for: Jack Sparrow.  Salazar leaves Henry alive to send a message to Jack that death is coming for him.
 
On the Saint Martin, a young girl named Carina Smyth is to be killed for being a witch.  Turns out that just she has a passion for astronomy and horology but manages to escape before they can carry out her execution.  And where is Captain Jack Sparrow during all this?  Drunk in a bank vault that he and his crew are trying to rob. 
 
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES is directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg.  This team has worked together on a few projects together and Rønning will be directing the PIRATES sequel to this movie.  As a whole, I don’t feel like this movie got a lot of love but I really did enjoy it.  There are a lot of funny moments and jokes that give it that same feeling that the other movies have.  
 
With Depp having the top billing so he will get the most screen time and with that, some of the cliché Jack Sparrow moments are going to happen which is a good thing.  That’s what the fans pay for and that’s what keeps the franchise going.  Until there is a clear cut ending for the Captain, moviegoers should expect to see this.  Also, the inclusion of Paul McCartney even for the minute on screen was so good.  “Have I told you the one about the skeleton: A skeleton goes into a bar and orders a beer and a mop…”

Cast
Johnny Depp – Captain Jack Sparrow:
Javier Bardem – Captain Armando Salazar
Geoffrey Rush – Captain Hector Barbossa
Brenton Thwaites – Henry Turner
Kaya Scodelario – Carina Smyth

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VIDEO QUALITY:

4k UHD
The video is a 2160p HEVC and it has a fantastic look.  The images have a sharp and high detailed appearance with the rotten ships looking like they’ll splinter a few of the crewmembers.  The British Navy ships have a cleaner appearance than the Silent Mary or the Dying Gull.  The makeup effects have been done well to not look fake in the theater on this format with the dry, sunburnt skin on the pirates.  The blacks are inky and deep in the night as well as the shadowed sections of the movie.  The coloring is also brilliant in the blues of the Caribbean and in the Redcoat’s uniforms.  Barbosa’s ship also has a glow in HDR. 
 
Blu-ray
The video is a 1080p AVC and like its 4k counterpart, it really looks gorgeous.  The coloring is bright and with a lot of the same standouts such as the tropical waters.  Again, the adetails add so much to the film like the fiery debris and the textures of Jack’s wanted posters.  You can still catch all of the details of the sun-worn faces of pirates and tattered ships.  The Blu-ray transfer is also brighter than the 4k UHD.  The best comparison that I can draw is comparing a standard Blu-ray and a 3D transfer where things just look a shade darker.  The CG is still believable and looks fantastic.  Another good way to describe how this transfer looks is that this looks alike the same exact transfer but on a Blu-ray at maximum resolution.  
 

AUDIO QUALITY:

4k UHD
The audio is a Dolby Atmos mix that defaults to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix.  The Atmos mix does use the overhead channels to its advantage.  There is sound movement from the busy scene of the bank robbery that has a good sound but the cannons firing from ship to ship have more movement.  Also, the death sentence scene has cannon balls flying, fighting, muskets shooting, and structures being destroyed.  The LFEs are strong but like the AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON audio, just feels a little light.  
 
Blu-ray
The audio is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix that shows the power of the naval warfare and the sounds of the sea.  The wood being blown to splinters with the heavy LFEs from canons and even just boat moaning in painful destruction. The sound field with the 7.1 setup creates smooth movements along with excellent rear channel use.  
 
This is easily heard when the waters open up and the characters find themselves in Poseidon’s tomb.  The walls of waters are moving with the water spraying on everything. Effects are clear with dialogue that is never overpowered. If you look at Dolby vs. DTS, it reminds me of how audio was when DVD first game around with DTS having LFEs all day long.
 
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SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING

-Dead Men Tell No Tales: The Making of a New Adventure: This is a seven-part series with varying lengths for the extras

A Return to the Sea: The cast and the crew give interviews about this new chapter into he series.
 
Telling Tales: A Sit-Down with Brenton & Kaya: The two new actors discuss their characters and making the movie.
 
The Matador & The Bull: Secrets of Salazar & the Silent Mary: This is the cast and crew discussing the new villain.
 
First Mate Confidential: This is with Kevin McNally who plays Gibbs.
 
Deconstructing the Ghost Sharks: This shows the pre-viz of sharks and the many layers of creating the scene.
 
Wings Over the Caribbean: Paul McCartney as a pirate…
 
An Enduring Legacy: This looks at all of the movies over the years.
 
-Bloopers of the Caribbean
 
-Jerry Bruckheimer Photo Diary
 
-Deleted Scenes
 
Disc Details
2-disc set w/ 1 4k UHD and 1 Blu-ray
Digital copy
 
Running Time
129 mins
 
Edition Ratings
Rated PG-13
 
Region Coding
Region Free
 
4k UHD
Video Resolution
2160p HEVC / H.265
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
 
Audio Mixes
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby TrueHD 7.1
English Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Spanish Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
French Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Japanese Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
 
Subtitles
English SD
French
Japanese
Spanish
 
Blu-ray
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
 
Audio Mixes
English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
French Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
 
Subtitles
English SDH
French
Spanish
 
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THE BOTTOM LINE:

DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES is the beginning of the end for the franchise (at least as far as Depp is concerned) but it could be the start for the new characters in this film.  Entertainment wise: this has a lot of jokes that may not be completely family friendly but they aren’t vulgar either.  It’s entertainment for the fans and movies in this genre.  The 4k UHD has a great video transfer as well as strong audio but it doesn’t overly outdo the Blu-ray.  There are decent sets of extras that get into a lot of what owners want to see about the movie.  Overall, I can recommend this movie to buy and if you aren’t sure, there’s no harm in renting it first.

About the author

MEDIA JOURNALIST | Michael is a fanatic about all both cinema old and new. He collects anything from 1:6 Scale, 1:12 Scale, and vinyl Collectibles plus Slipcovers and Steelbooks. He loves pop culture, writing, reviewing films & collectibles, and journalism. An avid Batman, The Joker and anything comics junkie, he will also chat it up about pretty much anything. Go ahead and ask...