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Cutthroat Island

Cutthroat Island

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Shiver me timbers!!!!!
Review: When I first heard about this movie it was while viewing the trailer at a movie theatre I had visited to watch another movie. Coming on during the pre-screening sequence I was completely blown away by this trailer. No narrator, just one action shot after another, all set to the beautiful Overture of 1812. As soon as that trailer was over I whispered to my companion "I'm going to see that when it comes out!". As time went by I eventually forgot about the movie. I actually would have gone and seen the movie had I heard anymore about it. But the truth is I never saw one televised commercial or one piece of advertisement for this film. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's why it failed to make any money at the box office--not enough advertisement. Which is funny why one of the biggest box office bombs of all time, isn't such a bomb afterall.

The next time I had heard anything about the movie is when I was strolling through my local video store and saw it laying down at the bottom of the shelf, and just then my memory clicked in. This must have been nearly two years after the theatrical release. I had to rent it! After viewing it at home, I loved it. I had to own a copy, and eventually I did. And when I got a dvd player and this movie came out on dvd, I had to get that too! Why do I love it so much you say? It's just one of those movies you cant give a deffinite response as to why you like it. Its a blending of several things. For one, the beautiful sets and costumes just take you right back to the mid 1600's; for two, the action is outstanding; for three, I just love pirates!!!

I'm sure if anyone loves a good movie they will be surprised by this one quite a bit. When the film opens you'll be blown away by excellently made titles, hypnotic dazzling music, and a breathtaking shot from the camera zooming across the landscape and then out to sea and finally passing a huge ship. Throughout the whole movie and after, you'll have the blood of a sea lover running through your veins. You'll be wishing you were a pirate! Again the movie is beautiful and the action is great. Some key scenes are a carriage chase action sequence through a port-city in Jamaica, and a side-to-side pirate ship battle.

I'll admit that some instances the film seems hokey; such as a pigeon flying in a thunderstorm, and that the characters actually have to count paces in order to find the buried treasure; but still a good movie. As a note, be sure to look closely in the final pirate ship battle scene as key characters are hard to spot when they are killed. As for the dvd, its great as well. Although there is not a commentary or a behind-the-scenes featurette, the film is in widescreen and the dvd has my beloved trailers. I dont think this movie will ever get a better dvd transfer.

One could almost be sad after watching this movie that the pirate age is over and has been so for quite awhile. But not I. I feel that in time the pirates shall return to take up their sea-worthy thrones once again. Eventually the laws of the globe shall permit people to once again become privateers. The economy will rise to the point to allow a man to purchase his own destroyer. Then what are they going to do? Oh yes, the pirates shall come again. Jo-ho-ho!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Arr, another pirate movie!
Review: If there's one thing that film-makers should know, is that pirate movies are risky buisness. CUTTHROAT ISLAND holds the undesirable distinction of being the biggest box office bomb of all time. It's overblown, messy, and worst of all, not very entertaining. Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) seems to have forgotten the one crucial rule to these kinds of films, and that is, story before spectacle. That's not to say it is devoid of merits; there are some impressive battle scenes, it has a great musical score and Geena Davis is good, but it leaves the viewer ultimatley unsatisfied. Ignore it's glaring flaws, however, and there is some fun to be had. DVD extras include a trailer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: WICKED
Review: Great plot, wicked fight scenes, good characters, great acting, one amazing adventure.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Far from stellar but mindlessly entertaining
Review: Arrr, mateys. It takes a lot of work to create an absolutely stinkeroo pirate movie, and it has been done, but Cutthroat island is not quite *that* bad. It just doesn't really try to rise above its modest objectives, either, and was not designed for more than set-piece spectacle sequences linked by the minimum requirement of exposition and character development. It's a popcorn movie pure and simple, and taken as that (and with a bottle of rum) it is a few hours of fun. Subtract one star, or maybe two, from the above rating if you simply aren't interested in salty tales of bloodthirsty freebooters, shiver me timbers. There is little in the way of convincing acting or believeable physics or original plot, but things blow up frequently and there is fighting and sailing and wenching and Jolly Rogers flying and lots of suitable pirate greed on display. It *should* have been better -- they might have spent more on a decent script, stronger casting, and a more capable director -- but it isn't unwatchable and it ought to get you yo-ho-hoing well enough. Then try "Treasure Island" with Charlton Heston for a top-notch buccaneer tale, ye scurvy swabs.

Technical caveat: Did I get a bad DVD, or what? I can't get the French language audio feature to work and the English subtitle feature is always ON when I put this disk in and play it, unless I manually click thru the menu to disable it. What's up with this bilgewater? Garrn!!!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Under rated Movie
Review: I love movies and this is a sleeper by all means.
It has expensive scenes, great action, super
acting and its not cheesy. Its really a nice change
from the same old action flicks. Im not a huge
Geena Davis fan but she did a great job. Enjoy

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not Nearly as Bad as Everyone Made it Out to Be
Review: Cutthroat Island may not be the best movie ever made, but I really feel that it was judged too harshly. The few who went to see it were expecting a serious, melodramatic action/adventure. When that wasn't presented, it was deemed a dismal failure. The advertising might be to blame for this, but whatever the reason, this film has to be taken with a grain of salt. I could tell from the start that it wasn't meant to be taken all that seriously; it was more of a tongue and cheek endeavor. The screenplay clearly shows a sense of humor, and personally, I thought it worked well.

In addition, it should be noted that it has an impressive number of action scenes that are quite entertaining, and despite what the critics may have said, there is a solid storyline. I never once felt that the story was lacking, and it remains true to the spirit of pirate films. While there are details that make the story unique, the basic structure is typical: a dueling group of pirates on a treasure hunt. That leads me to this question: Why did people think it would be totally different? If you're going to see a pirate film, expect to see swordfights, sailing ships, and a treasure hunt.

If nothing else attracts you to this film, you should see it just to hear the music. The soundtrack, composed by John Debney, is wonderfully lush and exciting. Each note brings the film to life if only a little bit more, and it really conveys a swashbuckling theme. There have been so many soundtracks that have failed to highlight the tone of the films they were scored for; this is not one of them.

If there are any drawbacks, I guess it would be that in some scenes the acting is not what one would call "surpurb." But, there are only a few moments like that, and the other scenes make up for them. And as I said, this film is not meant to be taken too seriously. If you have the correct mindset, the few moments of poor acting can easily be forgiven.

I have definitely seen worse movies than Cutthroat Island. I think people should lighten up and not be so critical. Not everything is hilarious, but not everything is depressing either. Give this film another chance and make sure it gets the recognition it deserves as a fun-filled, enjoyable, swashbuckling, high-seas adventure.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Lots of fun for a rather mediocre movie
Review: Cutthroat Island is not a great movie by any means. But it is a lot of fun if you enjoy pirate treasure, sea battles, sword fighting, a great soundtrack, and wonderful period costumes. The script is pretty weak and much of the acting is wooden. Worse yet, it seems that no one learned anything from Errol Flynn's The Sea Hawk because they once again include a rather annoying monkey as comedy relief. But what they do right is what makes this movie worth watching. The film wonderfully recreates the 17th century Caribbean world of the pirates and is probably the most realistic looking realization of this time and place to date. The actual portrayal of the pirates themselves owes more to "Treasure Island" and "Peter Pan" than "The American Sea Rovers", but there is definately something compelling in the romantic myth of the golden age of piracy. The pirate movie has suffered in recent years and Cutthroat will probably do nothing to revive it, which is really a shame as they, like the western and sci-fi adventure, are the best incarnations of modern myth to be found today.

The story revolves around the quest of Captain Morgan Adams, the sexy yet honorable pirate queen, to avenge her father's murder and outwit her evil pirate nemesis and fratricidal uncle, Captain "Dawg" (who makes these names up?). Taking command of her late father's ship and now in possession of part of a map to locate her father's lost treasure, Morgan sets out to win the vast riches for her and her hardy crew. On the way she engages the services of the roguish "Doctor" Shaw, manages to obtain the remaining pieces of the map, then goes on to brave mutinies, betrayals, storms at sea, exploding cannonballs, bad dialogue, and cliched bad guys in a worthwhle romp through an era gone by, when men and women sailed tall wooden ships, killed many people for profit, and drank themselves into oblivion on the high seas.

I gave Cutthroat Island one more star than it probably really deserves simply for being a really guilty pleasure. So grab your bottle of rum and cold steel cutlass and check it out!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not what it used to be.
Review: To give this movie my quick summarization. It is a cheep copy of the old swashbucklers. It has the complete lack of storyline just like the old ones, but the charm and fencing is gone.
Probably worst of all, they drown this film in crude and stupid humor; the action is entirely ridiculous and implausible, and of course the story line is predictable and totally stupid.
If you are merely looking for a cheap movie with a cool ship battle. You might want this, but otherwise get The Mask of Zorro or stick with Errol Flynn!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Fun movie, albeit corny in places
Review: If you like Pirates of the Carribean at Disney, or Pirates games on computers, you will be entertained by this title. It was definitely a sleeper when it came into the theatres. The story is somewhat believable, though the acting in places falls short. I don't think Geena Davis was the right choice for this role, but that's something I can get past.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An entertaining pirate movie.
Review: Morgan (Oscar-Winner:Genna Davis) has looking for the map to complete her journey to find the lost treasure with her crew. Since her father is murder by her uncle (Frank Langella) to find the missing piece of the map. Now it`s a race between Morgan and Her uncle to find the trasure with the help on Morgan side, an thief doctor (Matthew Modine).

Directed by Renny Harlin (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4:The Dream Master, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Die Hard 2:Die Harder) made an fine entertaining adventure film. DVD`s has an fine non-anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) transfer (Also in Pan & Scan) and an Strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. This film was a big disater at the box office back in winter of 1995. This film is a winner. Action fans won`t be disappointed. Panavision. Grade:B+.


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