Pirates of the Caribbean – Nerds’ Review & Printable Activities

Shiver me timbers! The long awaited follow-up in the what we can now call a saga hits theaters today

and I am here with what you need to know before you see the 5th installment of this series, and also if this flick is kid appropriate. Be sure to read through because there is a great printable for your little buccaneers. Join us and come aboard as we review Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales.

As I was scheduled to attend a media screening, I decided this past weekend was a good time to marathon all the Pirates movies, 1-4, so I set forth on my quest for movie treasure and ended up striking gold. Of course my journey was not without peril (how are we out of popcorn?!) and sacrifice (4 movies is dedication…and a sore bum!), it was greatly rewarded with a swashbuckling adventure and a new love for all things Pirates.

A Pirate Nerd is born

When I began my marathon, I confessed to my Nerds’ team that I had never really watched them, and was coming into the series as pure as Elizabeth Swann. We own them all, my kids have watched them numerous times, and we love the ride at Walt Disney World, but for some reason I had never actually sat down and viewed them.

Well, that changed over the weekend and now I am a Pirate junkie. (Blame Jack.)

In Theaters Now

Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Men Tell No Tales takes place a good many years after the end of the 3rd movie, At World’s End, but not so far past 2011’s On Stranger Tides. You do not need to have watched On Stranger Tides to know what is going on in this movie, but I do suggest having at least watched At World’s End. Having just watched that was very helpful in my knowing what needed to be known.

In summary, it’s a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. They have a lot of the same formula: Jack is caught. Jack is not caught. There’s chases, and battles and fights. A little love, a lot of mystery. New characters to root for, and to root against.

I felt like this installment had a lot more adult humor than the ones previous, or maybe I just noticed them more because my 17 year old was sitting next to me, understanding the jokes, and laughing her head off. Nothing was ever too much, but there was much laughter in the audience at quite a few well-written one liners.

We saw this in 3D and while I usually prefer not to see movies in this format, I thought the 3D looked ahhh-mazing!! I truly was mesmerized. The special effects were, as in each movie, unbelievable. Captain Salazar and his crew had me spellbound. If you can see this in 3D, do it!

The movie was very dark for a good bit of it. I say this more in terms of kids in the theater. I had a little girl of about 6 behind me (that kicked my seat the whole time) complain too often that it was too dark, she wanted to go out, and in one very loud fight and battle scene, she started crying quite loudly. (Along with her baby sister, who was under 18 months.) My opinion, 8 and up. And that 8 year old needs to have already seen a POTC movie and half-way know what to expect. Yes, it is a Disney movie, we hear that in the Facebook Group all the time, but not every Disney movie is meant for young children. Don’t be That Guy!

I really enjoyed this installment in the series, and the end left me wanting more. I was so thrilled with the ending!! Be sure to stay for The End after the end, you know what I mean if you’re a true Disney Nerd.

Should you go see this in the theaters? Was Keelhauling the most horrible torture for pirates at sea? You betcha. Go see it. Don’t know what keelhauling is? Go see this and learn something new today.

After the movie, use this link to keep the fun going with all kinds of great Pirate crafts, activities and fun. With summer vacation kicking off for many, this couldn’t come at a better time!

Pirate Activity Packet

Enjoy me mateys, and remember,

Just keep swimming!

Charlotte