Kaya Scodelario and Johnny Depp star in a scene from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Disney)

By Catholic News Service

Flashy but unsatisfying fifth installment in the theme park ride-based franchise that first set sail in 2003. This time out, series stalwart Johnny Depp, once again playing eccentric buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow, joins forces with a young science scholar (Kaya Scodelario) whose learning has led her to be charged with witchcraft and an equally youthful sailor (Brenton Thwaites). All three are seeking the same magical artifact, each for a different reason. They’re pursued by the British navy, by the ghost of one of Sparrow’s old adversaries (Javier Bardem) and by a living but one-legged freebooter (Geoffrey Rush).

Directors Joachim Ronning and Espen Sandberg’s special effects-driven adventure is long on spectacle but short on human interest. Parents willing to overlook some adult punning may give mature teens the go-ahead to board, however.

Much action violence with little blood, brief implications of adultery, a single gruesome image, occasional mature wordplay, at least one crass term. The Catholic News Service classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 — parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

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