5. Embrace The Imagery
Walt Disney PicturesThe series has the benefit that the Caribbean was and is a very real place with a number of beautiful island locations and an endlessly undulating expanse of sea. With no faraway planets made of lava or futuristic cities replete with flying cars to worry about, the films can take and have taken advantage of the natural views and settings of the location to breathe life into their pirates' world. One thing the first three films in particular did well was utilizing the Caribbean to help make the world of the films seem like a much bigger place, with real ships sailing on real water and characters treading on real sandy shores. With On Stranger Tides, Disney attempted to cut back the budget, shifting production of the film mainly to Hawaii and causing a large chunk of the film to take place on land in a jungle setting. Though there were still some ocean-bound scenes aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, gone were the epic sea battles, voyages and travels to new locations. Instead, the film ultimately confined itself to its single island location, robbing the audience of the previous film's "pirate life" experience of sailing the ocean, making port to plunder, pillage or enjoy a bit too much rum and seeing new sights. Dead Men Tell No Tales needs to get back to letting the audience explore the Caribbean alongside its characters. The fourth film had many problems and its decision to ground its characters in a single setting for the majority of the film only aided in sucking the traveling spirit out of the proceedings. For the fifth film, the location possibilities are endless, so we can only hope it gets back to showing off why its characters love to call the Caribbean their home.