Review of Cutthroat Island (1995) by Lee V — 14 Aug 2009

As with watery epics before and after it, Cutthroat Island was dogged with production problems. Losing it's star just as camera's were about to roll, meaning the script was having to be rewritten on set. A week into production the DP broke his ankle and promptly had to be replaced. Crew members were ill in Malta, others quit after a camera operator was fired, sets had to be rebuilt, Oliver Reed was fired, raw sewage polluted tanks that were supposed to be swam in, you name it, it went wrong and to top it off, Carolco the company behind it went bankrupt 6 weeks into the shoot. Costing $115 million in 1995, it was buried by the studio, only getting a small theatrical release and only managing to recoup a fraction of that ($10 million) Cutthroat Island is considered to be one of the biggest flops of all time.

Which is actually a real shame because theres so much to enjoy here, it rattles along at such a good pace, with a solid story and huge set pieces its hard not to get caught up with the ride. Davis and 8th choice Modine (who seems to be really enjoing himself here) do okay but they're not strong enough actors to hide the rather join the dots dialogue, however you get the impression Renny Harlin was never interested character depth, no he's far more at home blowing up Ports, throwing his cast off cliffs and huge bar brawls. Thats not mention the sumptuous ships, sets and costume design. The hundred odd million is definitley all there on screen, without a single CG pixel insight to boot.

For me Cutthroat Island gets right everything the Pirates Of The Carribean trilogy got wrong.

Buried treasure indeed !