Sequels don't fool audiences.

Rating: 4/10 (10 June 2017)

It's all about the cash, and for the long running "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, it's time to retire it. That doesn't seem likely however based on Johnny Depp's last line in this latest entry, trimmed to just over 2 hours yet feeling every bit the 2 1/2 listed as the running time. The premise seems great, although enough back story has been provided in earlier films that explained much of the character's histories.
Depp is so comfortable in this part that he could do it sleepwalking. He's just as charming and foppish as ever, best when making comical asides about the ridiculousness going on rather than simply being on the outside of the plot looking in. Yes, he's established as being the subject of revenge by several characters, but the real story involves Jack's old enemy Captain Barbarosa (a much subtler Geoffrey Rush) and the vengeance seeking Captain Salazar (a heavily made-up Javier Badhem who has several agendas and is determined to reach his goals no matter who he has to kill to get there.
There's the underlying story of a young man out to end the curse put on his doomed ghostly father (trapped at the bottom of the sea) and a young lady of science accused of being a witch. Of course, this leads to a romantic relationship, obvious from the time he has to hold onto her behind for a long period of time as she struggles to get out of a noose. At the same time, Depp's doing somersaults with a faulty guillotine and ends up with a wooden sword proof vest. Funny, yes. Relevant to the plot, no.
This holds the attention with bemused eye rolling for 3/4 of the film, but goes way overboard in a watery abyss where all enemies come together and all secrets come out. The special effects are impressive, often noisy, but after a while, the absurdities just get to be too much. Some Ray Harruhsusen type creatures briefly get some attention (ghostly sharks, the ship's hood ornaments come to life), but it's just more of the same, rushed out for box office gold without regards to script, substance or all around interesting characters.