Thankfully, much of the self-indulgent bloat of the previous sequels has been stripped away for this fifth entry, but the fundamental problem remains: there is nothing new for this franchise to offer. Although the story, characters and beats sail perilously close to the original film which is the clear touchstone here, there is much to enjoy: 3D, physical and CG effects and use of camera are fine, there are some lively sequences (including a bank robbery that takes the concept to a whole new level and the ghost-sharks are good), Bardem is a reasonable villain, Scodelario and Thwaites - two strong young actors - are suitable Knightley/Bloom substitutes, and the third act is strong with a charming final scene. Nevertheless, it is still overlong, a lot feels too familiar, and Jack Sparrow is no longer swaggering fun but simply dumb (although, like Jar Jar Binks, children love the character). This is one of the more tolerable Pirates sequels, but do not go looking for anything startling or new.
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