"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" was an enjoyable-enough seafaring adventure, with a fine villain in Javier Bardem and a couple of memorable set pieces. But this year’s entry has a very surprising post-credits sequence. After Will (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) have reunited and gotten down to some post-long-distance whoopee, Will awakens to see a familiar shape lurking in the doorway: the tentacle-faced Davy Jones. When he gets up to investigate, the shape is gone — but the camera reveals a puddle of oceanic water and some writhing sea creatures.
Why this isn’t higher on the list is because it makes such shockingly little sense. Yes, it’s a good gag, but when an entire movie worked up to Davy Jones’ death, which is dramatized quite graphically, then logic is just thrown out the window for whatever the filmmakers think will goose an audience (and goose us it did!) The best post-credits sequences this summer didn’t try to artificially generate excitement or prolong a franchise’s demise; they surprised in other, fresher ways. Take that to heart, ya scallywags.
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