Walking the plank

Rating: 4/10 (12 September 2017)

It is commonly agreed that The Curse of the Black Pearl was the best POTC film with its two sequels being almost unwatchable.
I thought the fourth movie was actually an improvement to parts 2 & 3. Disney however continue to milk the franchise and Johnny Depp feels he has a duty to keep Captain Sparrow lookalikes in gainful employment as well as keeping his bank manager and divorce lawyers happy.
Orlando Bloom returns as Will Turner in a short cameo appearance, it is his son, sailor Henry Turner who is searching for the Trident of Poseidon, an artefact which could free his father from his curse.
Henry needs Captain Sparrow's help but everyone thinks that the Trident is a myth. Sparrow and Henry get help from a young female astronomer Carina Smyth who claims to have the map to the Trident.
Captain Salazar and his undead band of sailors are after Captain Sparrow for revenge, Captain Barbossa also returns initially being forced to help Salazar.
The plot is a mish mash of Salazar wanting his revenge and the search for a mythical item that everyone wants. In many ways it retreads the first film and also has elements of the sequels with elaborate comic action sequences, heavy use of CGI and some downright silliness.
Thankfully the running time is shorter but it still feels bloated and boring. It is a sinking franchise, yet the film has nice special effects, some of the comedy does work and is still sporadically entertaining.