An Aging Franchise Overstays its welcome

Rating: 3/10 (27 May 2017)

Pirates of the Caribbean, when it came out in the early 2000s, was one of the most original and unique movies to be released in recent memory. It was a great mix of comedy, adventure and action that could appeal to the whole family. Depp's boozy Captain Jack Sparrow was part ruthless pirate and part sly wink. You never knew which one you would get. The first one got it all right: a great story, a ton of adventure and a lot of fun. However, the series has dropped in quality a bit more with each subsequent release, to the point that now I find the whole thing boring, trite and overdone. Depp's Sparrow continues his act, but now it's more canned and predictable. The story seems to be written as it goes along, so you lose track of what's going on and who's doing what and why we even care. It deals with Will Turner and Elizabeth Swain's son and that he wants to join an evil pirate group and yada yada. Some explosions, sword fights, Sparrow drunk walking and some boats on the water. Ho hum. The good news was at two hours, this was one of the shorter films in the series. The bad news is this aging franchise has long overstayed its welcome.