[The News Bot]

Reviewed by Chris McEneany, 30th August 2009
Much maligned it may be, but Renny Harlin's Cutthroat Island is actually damn fine entertainment. There's nothing in here that wasn't subsequently done to death by Captain Jack Sparrow and his various crews years later so, if you liked their antics, there's every chance that you'll like this.

Problems abound with the casting, of that there's no doubt. But when a romp is as fast-paced and as lavish as this then such discrepancies are easily tossed over the side. Harlin is a high-concept filmmaker. He takes a pitch and then just runs with every conceivable action-oriented angle that he can throw at it. You either like such exuberance or you don't. Personally I would take this hokum over most of the dizzy, one-note and soulless action-flicks that proliferate these days. CG-clagfests such as G.I. Joe: Rise Of The Cobra are sheer cartoon pap when compared to the lusty, full-bodied absurdity that something such as witnessing Geena Davis leaping from a speeding horse and wrestling a foe into the surf can provide.

Lionsgate give the film an impressive transfer, with a truly bombastic soundtrack and a picture that is, unquestionably, a worthy upgrade over previous versions. The treasure chest seems woefully under-filled when it comes to extras, though, with only Harlin's commentary offering anything of worth. But, considering how often this film is dismissed, smeared and cast-aside, this is not exactly unexpected - although it should be precisely this notoriety that ensures some retrospective light is thrown on the production.


Anyway, me hearties, this is ripe, rampant and rip-roaring stuff that wants nothing more than to entertain. Taken on its own, admittedly, self-indulgent terms, this is agreeably daft hokum that voyages out with the wind of the Golden Age in its sails. As silly as it all is, I still say climb aboard, matey!
Read the full review...