Jack Sparrow, nothing more than a gimmick

Rating: 5/10 (18 September 2017)

PotC 1 was a unique movie that took cinema by storm. The adventurous tales, the overacting and the atmosphere made the movie a delight for old, and also for young, even with the horror elements. Depp's phenomenal acting combined with the fairy tale feeling of the movie made it a delight for us all.
The sequels proved that even a unique feeling will suffer when the underlying script or motivations are messy, and PotC drowned (or should've drowned) after part 3. Somehow a life raft saved what became On Stranger Tides. Maybe Jack Sparrow has 9 lives as long as he was cursed to do standalone movies, that escaped from the complexity that killed part 2 and 3 from the original trilogy.
Alas, Salazar's Revenge offered none of what On Stranger Tides delivered. After a moody and atmospheric opening with links to open ties from the trilogy we (too soon) get to know Salazar who is a ghostly adversary, locked away from land. Nothing wrong with Javier Bardem's acting, but his introduction and later the "escape" of Salazar, take away anything that was threatening or frightening.
A little later, Jack Sparrow enters the scene, which reminds us of every reason to not let this series continue. Funny as Depp is, with perfect comedic timing, Sparrow has become nothing more than a background gimmick who has no reason to be on screen any moment during the film and has become a parody of the brilliance and subtle genius of comedic stars like Buster Keaton. Halfway the movie you'll have forgotten that Bardem and Depp should've been the main focus. No charm, no charisma, no masterful screen presence.
The only redeeming factor is that at the end, they tie a loose end from the trilogy in a feel good way. But even that is ruined with a post credits scene that suggests that more is to come, for no reason or explanation. PotC has become like Transformers: fillers for cinemas.