CinemaNerdz

The Preview Reel: Lifeguards Take on the Pirates

Scott Davis
The Preview Reel

Welcome to the “Preview Reel” column, where we look at the week’s upcoming wide release movies. Memorial Day weekend is already upon us, which means not only is it safe to open the pool but there’s guaranteed to be a blockbuster or two opening at the cineplexes. This year features two intriguing summer blockbusters of different proportions as the fifth Pirates of the Caribbean finally hits the screen after numerous delays, and the Dwayne Johnson/Zac Efron comedy Baywatch also debuts. Both films have the potential to hit it big at the box office, but word of mouth seems especially important to these films and how profitable they can be.

 

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

What we are excited about: The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise has an interesting history as the first installment, Curse of the Black Pearl, is one of the more beloved summer blockbusters of the early 2000s, but each subsequent installment has been met with less enthusiasm. What made the first film great was the beautiful locales, the wonderfully shot action sequences, the fun story, and of course, Johnny Depp. Captain Jack Sparrow became an iconic character with that first film, but the luster wore off with each passing movie. The trailers for Dead Men Tell No Tales, however, have done a nice job of showing us pretty much everything that we enjoyed about that first movie. The story looks promising, the locales are as beautiful as ever, and it looks visually unlike than any other Pirates movie. It has us hopeful that they can capture what made the first movie so much fun.

What we are worried about: Even though this writer is a defender of the second and third Pirates movies, we can all agree that that fourth film, On Stranger Tides, is a complete mess. Despite making over a billion dollars worldwide, Disney has been hesitant on making another Pirates movie because of how poorly received that fourth one was. We’re hoping that they were just taking their time and crafting a fun Pirates movie instead of just coming back for a cash grab. But with three mediocrely received sequels, does this franchise have anything left in the tank?

The Buzz: A month or so ago there was a mild amount of buzz surrounding this movie, but there has been even more buzz surrounding it because of the hackers who were holding this movie at ransom. Whether that kind of buzz will lead to people buying tickets remains to be seen, but the movie has been receiving harsh reviews to say the least. It currently sits at 33% on RottenTomatoes and 48 on MetaCritic. Given the popularity of the franchise, the film should easily debut at number one with $90 million for the four-day weekend, which is the same result the franchise had with On Stranger Tides.

Final Thoughts: Despite how you may feel about the franchise, this looks to be a promising entry and could make for a fun summer blockbuster.

 

Baywatch

What we are excited about: Dwayne Johnson has quickly become the biggest movie star on the planet. He arguably saved the Fast and the Furious franchise, made the mediocre Central Intelligence a box-office smash, and no one can stop singing “You’re Welcome” from Moana. The guy seems to be everywhere, and even though his films aren’t award-worthy, they usually are quite entertaining. Add in a normally funny Zac Efron with a solid supporting cast, and it looks like this might be a comedy treat.

What we are worried about: Have you heard of 21 Jump Street? Well that R-rated comedy adaptation of a classic-TV drama series was very successful, but it also had a big thing going for it: it was unique. This trick has already been done before, and as seen with this year’s CHiPS, audiences are not yearning for it. If it’s genuinely funny and entertaining, then that’s fine, but there’s also a chance this might be a cash grab after the Jump Street successes.

The Buzz: The buzz is mostly strong because of the Rock, although it is nothing astronomically high. People seem to be rolling their eyes at the idea of a Baywatch comedy, but this is the kind of movie that might demonstrate strong legs at the box office if word of mouth is good. Having said that, word of mouth might not be good given the scathing reviews the film has been receiving. The film currently sits at 16% on RottenTomatoes and 37 on MetaCritic, which might hurt its box office results. Look for a four-day opening weekend of around $35-40 million.

Final Thoughts: If Pirates movies aren’t your thing, then there are certainly worse things to check out other than a Dwayne Johnson summer comedy. This seems to be worthy of a date night at the very least.

Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.
Exit mobile version