Cutthroat Island

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Starring	Geena Davis, Matthew Modine
Director	Renny Harlin
Year	1995
What it's worth		Matinee* (Good way to spend a couple of hours. * - With caveat)

My immediate reaction to Cutthroat Island was to compare it to movies like Jason and the Argonauts. It's got cheesy dialog, lots of posing, every cliche in the book, and a plot that could have been sketched out on a napkin in under ten minutes. But it's a great swash-buckler with courage of its convictions, and if - only if - you enjoy rope-swinging, sword fighting, and a generally rowdy movie, you'll love this one.

Geena Davis plays Morgan, a pirate's daughter who apparently spent her childhood learning every possible trick of the trade. When her father dies, she inherits his part of a map to buried treasure, and with a little persuasion of her reluctant crew, and some help from a thief named Shaw who's not particularly talented at his trade (Matthew Modine), she's off to find her fortune - literally.

You can probably already tell that this movie throws in everything but the kitchen sink for adventure. We have buried treasure, maps, dark cities, evil uncles, damp caves, secret islands, shipwrecks, battles, swordfights, and slugfests. The only striking difference to this one is that in the center of all the mayhem stands a woman this time, poised to prove she can do anything a man can do.

I mean that. Really. Morgan punches guys out, climbs the riggings, shoots, duels, the works. This is not a movie that pays a tip of the hat to women's lib by letting the woman get into a catfight with another. Davis's character literally kicks butt, and I lost count of the number of times she rescues the guy instead of the other way around. Davis has obviously not given up on the feminist support she showed in Thelma and Louise.

For all its cheesiness and, at times, very poor special effects, the one part this movie didn't pull any stops on was its pirate ship battle. This is one of the few movies that had the wherewithal to actually show a clipper ship battle like it really was; two huge monsters of the sea pulling up next to each other and blasting proud boats to flinders. For nautical types, that scene alone makes the movie worth noting.

Don't go see this movie if you want a challenge. Don't see it if you're feeling like picking a plot apart at the seams. Don't see it if you don't like action flicks. But if you want to see some swashes buckled and a B-style movie in the tradition of Errol Flynn, Sinbad, or Tarzan, grab some popcorn and enjoy the ride.

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