Cutthroat Island
Prepare your weapons.
Geena Davis (Thelma & Louise, Beetlejuice) and Matthew Modine (Married To The Mob, Full Metal Jacket) deliver a tidal wave of nonstop action and adventure in this swashbuckling saga of ruthless pirates, buried treasure and bloodthirsty betrayal.
Member Reviews
Didn't live up, but fun - ShawnConnery
It seemed that it had so much potential, but I don't know. I mean, the effects were great, the score was solid, the locations amazing. But the real substance was...well, weak. The acting wasn't the greatest, the characters would've been better under different actors and actresses, and the plot itself seemed hurried. Even the dialogue was quite dull, especially when you expect witty back and forth banter as in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Still fun, though.This One Should Have Been Great - MovieProf
"Cutthroat Island" has so much going for it: an exciting storyline, big-name actors, fantastic locales, superb special effects, a solid soundtrack...but something is missing.
When I saw this film in the theatres in 1995, I thought it was great. I watched it on DVD years later, and then again just recently, and now I see what I missed the first time. The problem here is, most notably, Geena Davis. She seems to fall flat here, real flat.
The major problem is her complete inability to sound authentic. I never understand why so much time and money is taken to make a film look historically accurate, only to have the actors erode that authenticity. Here, Davis sounds like a modern-day American. An American living in Jamacia. An American who was likely born in England. Hmm.
Davis isn't the only one afflicted with this obvious faux-pas: the impressive cast that includes Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, and Maury Chaykin all sound idiotic. It's a shame, because Modine turns in an otherwise excellent performance. The anachronistic language is also distracting: these characters don't need to walk around speaking in metaphor like Shakespeare (who had died about 50 years previous to when this film takes place), but an attempt should have been made to make all sound like it's 1668.
However, there are plenty of positives I mentioned in my intro. The locations used are primarily Malta and Thailand, and they look great. The special effects are first rate all the way as well. Finally, I enjoyed the music score immensely.
In closing, I just have to throw these in: a man who jumps overboard attached to the ship's several-tonne anchor can't be slowed down by someone grabbing onto them. And Davis' "Bad Dawg" line to Dawg Brown before killing him is among the worst I've heard in film.A great pirate movie! - imagination201
Okay, I admit that I never saw the Saturday morning specials with pirates, and that, except for Pirates of the Caribbeans, I have not seen that many pirate movies. Hence, I do not have many references with which to compare this movie.
However, one thing I do know about it is that I simply had a blast watching it. It was a welcome return to the swashbuckling genre, as well as led by a strong female character. I just loved it!
I had heard a lot of negative comments about it, which was why I hadn't seen it before, but in all honesty, if all you want is a good time watching a movie, then I don't see what is wrong with that movie. It has action, a family feud, a treasure hunt, romance, a tamed monkey, and a final confrontation that doesn't have anything to envy to other movies of that decade.
Also, being a movie of the nineties, the fights are clean with no abusive use of blood, and I, for one, prefer it that way.
All in all, it is a great pirate movie for the neophyte, and a good one for those very familiar with the genre.
Member Reviews
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Didn't live up, but fun - ShawnConnery
It seemed that it had so much potential, but I don't know. I mean, the effects were great, the score was solid, the locations amazing. But the real substance was...well, weak. The acting wasn't the greatest, the characters would've been better under different ...This One Should Have Been Great - MovieProf
"Cutthroat Island" has so much going for it: an exciting storyline, big-name actors, fantastic locales, superb special effects, a solid soundtrack...but something is missing.
When I saw this film in the theatres in 1995, I thought it was great. I watched ...A great pirate movie! - imagination201
Okay, I admit that I never saw the Saturday morning specials with pirates, and that, except for Pirates of the Caribbeans, I have not seen that many pirate movies. Hence, I do not have many references with which to compare this movie.
However, one thing ...