Didn't you just give a lengthy dissertation that Jack's been drinking for 17 years, mate?
I did, but that was in reference to critics who basically say that Jack Sparrow from Dead Man's chest on has been a dumbed down, lesser Jack than what we got in Curse of the Black Pearl. My point was, I've never subscribed to that idea, I don't belittle if people do perceive it that way but I don't, I just feel like we got different glimpses of the same character dictated by time and circumstances. The key is, I made that argument because for 1-4, even though there were variations of how serious or silly Jack may seem, there was an overall consistent characterization behind it all and watching that play out is what's kept me running to every Pirates movie that has come out.
For me, you've got a pirate like Barbossa who is just naturally a strong and fierce man who achieves his gains through brute force and command of every situation, which is why he plays so well against Jack because Jack is always the guy that is underestimated and never totally in command of any situation, but yet he's remarkably resourceful to find ways to come out on top by playing people and manipulating situations.
That's why I say that the flashback Jack was perfect, he wasn't skilled enough to take on Salazaar head on and just maul him down like Barbossa might, he had to think up guiding Salazaar in and circling his own ship from not going in, he wins fights by managing not to fight.
The scenes with older Jack just didn't give opportunities for Jack to exercise his wit, he was more along for the ride but it was more Barbossa and Carina seeming to guide the outcome of everything, which works for their storyline, but as a Sparrow fan, I felt like he was underutilized. If you break it down, Barbossa actually ultimately ends up being like Jack on this movie, for the first time ever we see him unable to just control things so he takes pages out of Jack's book using bargains and manipulations to stay ahead.
