Spend your money elsewhere Read the full article on AICN Ok – so I’ll shoot straight as Gary Cooper in SERGEANT YORK with you. While watching the film I was fairly entertained. I love the Verbinski trilogy, the last one – not so much – and as the film played – Johnny Depp and Javier Bardem held my interest, but Geoffrey Rush lacked energy and interest in his role it felt like. When I was asked for comments by the studio rep – at that juncture I was like, “Best non-Verbinski PIRATES flick yet!” Now I know, that’s very sleight praise or a massive condemnation depending how you feel about the original trilogy. But as Father Geek and I hit late night traffic on the way home, the film started turning to ash in my throat. The script is as clunky as a toy chest of Legos. And far less interesting. While I physically enjoyed watching Javier Bardem as a Floaty Ghost – visually handled very much like Santi from Guillermo’s DEVIL’S BACKBONE – in effects only. Not with any real melancholy or dread or sadness. The Salazar story is a real let down. The character and performance by Bardem, fun, but what they did with him. Not so much. You see, had the film been about Sparrow and Salazar – it might’ve been something special, but they insisted on squeezing in people that just can not hold the screen. Brenton Thwaites and Kaya Scodelario are about as interesting in this movie as the young actors in INDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE – maybe… ever Finish the article on AICN