Disney’s unusual and immensely popular Pirates of the Caribbean series has now reached its fifth, and hopefully final, installment.  It has defied expectations and provided spectacular sights for fourteen years now, and with its conclusion that takes place ten years after the events of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, provides the perfect opportunity to say farewell to this group of characters for the final time.

The film, co-directed by Norwegians Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, brings back not only Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally), Marty (Martin Klebba) and other crew members, but Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and the lovely Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) as well.  New characters are Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), Carina Smyth (Kara Scodelario), Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) and Shansa (Golshifteh Farahani).  As for the story, there is much swashbuckling between the Black Pearl crew, a British man o’war and Captain Salazar’s death ship.  Everybody wants to kill Jack Sparrow.  And three death sharks make a frightening appearance, which I was certainly not expecting.

This is the shortest saga of the franchise, at 129 minutes, although it was still hellishly expensive to make.  But, as they say, the money is there on the screen, what with death sharks, the expansion of a ship-in-a-bottle to life size, a dividing of the ocean at the climax and, perhaps most impressively, the hijacking of a bank building.  It’s as overproduced as ever, but it is exciting and fun, at least some of the time.  I was entertained, though not to the extent that earlier entries have thrilled me.  I still wonder at the fact that this pirate franchise has prospered beyond all reason while just every other pirate movie over the past half century (or longer) has flopped.  It’s truly amazing.

Fans of the franchise have rewards, from a Paul McCartney cameo to those death sharks (they’re much scarier than the Great Whites in 47 Meters Down).  Even I was misty-eyed at the conclusion, when Will and Elizabeth are reunited at last (SPOILER ALERT).  It’s the heart and humanity of these characters that keep us coming back, from Jack’s preening peacock (he’s really a softie) to Barbossa’s selfless sacrifice (SPOILER ALERT).  I have generally liked this series but it feels right to end it now; Disney has announced plans for another but I hope they let well enough alone.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  4 July 2017.