5 out of 10
Wait to rent it on Blu-Ray, definitely not worth a pricey movie ticket.
Ok, to start off, I definitely waited to see this movie as I had very low expectations. This week I had a chance to see it for free (thanks to a GC I received to a cheap REGAL theater), and a group of us went. It’s not as bad as you might expect, but definitely not up to par of the original trilogy (even those who hated part 3 will admit that it was still a superior film to this). Johnny Depp was fine as Jack Sparrow as always, it was just the world and characters around him that lacked, as well as any truly interesting visual spectacle. Plus there were leaps in logic that were extreme even for a supernatural pirates movie.
I had thought that MAYBE the score (by my favorite composer Hans Zimmer) would at least make it worth the trip to the theater, but it seems even Hans was unimpressed by the material. It was clear that he phoned it in on this one, as I haven’t heard such blatant re-uses of old material since John Williams coasted through the Star Wars prequels.
There were a few memorable action scenes, mainly early on in the film that I thought were fun to watch, but the whole thing seemed to fizzle at the end, and lacked any kind of payoff (in my mind). Here’s to hoping that if they decide on a Pirates 5, Johnny Depp holds out until he can sure of a decent director and script.
NICHOLASGRAFF.com 