Pirates of the Caribbean Movies Ranked from Worst to Best
It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than 20 years since the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out and made Jack Sparrow a household name. Interestingly, the franchise is based onDisney’s theme park ride, which opened in 1967. Pirates of the Caribbean filled an interesting gap in the history of pirate movies that audiences didn’t know they were missing. Before Jack Sparrow made his way to the silver screen, the only notable pirate movies were Hook, The Goonies, and Waterworld.
These movies delved into the lives of pirates, giving us a look into the swashbuckling lives of pirates while also embracing how silly and goofy all of it is. That said, as is the case with every franchise, the magic faded soon for audiences. Still, the series left behind some memorable highs and not-so-great lows. So, here’s a ranking of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, ranked from worst to best.
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5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Pirates of the Caribbean is known to incorporate pirate lore and even historical figures into its fictional plot. On Stranger Tides’ plot follows Angelica, Jack’s former lover, who convinces him to join the ship of pirate legend, Blackbeard and look for the Fountain of Youth. On paper, this sounds like an amazing plot.
However, On Stranger Tides ruins almost everything the past Pirates movies got right. Disney let go of Gore Verbinski, the original director of the first three Pirates movies, to replace him with Rob Marshall. Marshall strips Pirates of the Caribbean of all its charm, both visually and narratively. The movie looks like a genericDisneyfilm that came out for OTT. Out of all the Pirates movies, you may skip this one.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the latest film of the series. The plot follows Jack Sparrow looking for a mysterious artifact yet again, the Trident of Poseidon. The big bad of this movie is Captain Salazar, a menacing villain brought to life by the ever-talented Javier Bardem. Released 15 years after the first Pirates film, this movie arrived at a point when audiences had largely grown tired of the franchise’s formula.
Obviously, Dead Men Tell No Tales struggled at the box office and was weighed down by franchise fatigue. That said, the studio was aware of this but did little to try and innovate or breathe life into what would become a dead franchise. It does have some cool scenes with Javier Bardem stealing the scene in almost all of them, but even he couldn’t save this movie from ultimately becoming the swan song of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
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3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
This is where the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was at its best. The series could’ve ended right here, and no one would’ve batted an eye. The movie gives a fitting end to the story of Jack and Elizabeth, making Will the captain of the Flying Dutchman, with Elizabeth staying behind with their son. We see the epic rise and fall of Davy Jones and his crew, with CGI that is still hailed as a masterpiece 20 years later.
Jack sails off into the horizon to continue chasing treasure and adventure, which would’ve been a fitting end for Johnny Depp’s character instead of dragging his character into weaker sequels. This movie picked up from the breathtaking cliffhanger of the last film and delivered an epic, character-driven finale that gave every major player their moment in the spotlight.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2002)
The Curse of the Black Pearl is the first movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series that first made audiences first fall in love with Jack Sparrow. The movie follows a fairly straightforward plot, compared to the absolute bonkers plot of later films. While this movie serves as the perfect introduction to these characters, it’s far from perfect.
Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow is quite one-dimensional in this movie compared to the arc he follows in the later movies. Elizabeth and Will feel quite undercooked and don’t really shine compared to their appearance in the later movies. As is the case with any good trilogy, the sequel fixes all these problems and gives us a well-rounded arc for all characters.\
This is the movie that cemented Pirates of the Caribbean’s legacy in pop culture forever. The movie understands all the mistakes from its predecessor and works on them. Off the bat, this movie introduces the amazing character of Davy Jones, who just steals the show every scene he is in. It is also the best-looking film in the entire series and features scenes that might make you wonder at times how Disney even produced this.
If you thought the CGI on Davy Jones was good, wait till you watch the scene of a Kraken engulfing a ship. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is the series at its best. It delivers the swashbuckling adventure you expect from a movie like this and is arguably the quintessential pirate movie.
Is There a Pirates of the Caribbean 6 Coming Out
Yes, it has been confirmed by Disney that a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie is in active development. As reported byEW, Pirates of the Caribbean producer has already spoken to Johnny Depp about his return to the franchise.
“If [Johnny] likes the way the part’s written, I think he would do it. It’s all about what’s on the page, as we all know. We are still working on a screenplay. We want to make it. We just got to get the right screenplay. We haven’t quite gotten there yet, but we’re close.”
It seems that the studio has learned from its mistakes and is working hard on the next iteration of Pirates. However, fans have argued that the movie will only work as a passing-of-the-torch movie, similar to Ghostbusters: Afterlife. It remains to be seen what Disney has in store for its next swashbuckling adventure. We’ll be sure to update this list of Pirates of the Caribbean movies as the next title comes out.
Melvin Mathew
Melvin is a nerd for anything and everything pop culture. He has had more than two years of experience as a writer and editor in the gaming space and has now brought that expertise to his true love: pop culture and comic books.
When he’s not typing away, you’ll probably catch him skateboarding in empty parking lots, usually mid-fall from some “totally worth it” trick. When he’s not nursing those bruises, he’s tagging a wall with graffiti or finishing painting his long-overdue Pinterest board of saved artworks.
