Monday, August 02, 2004

Cutthroat Island

Speaking of action movies, I've often wondered why I'm the only one who likes Cutthroat Island. It's true that I'm a big Geena Davis fan, but I might have liked the movie even if she hadn't been in it. I first saw the movie at a sneak preview in Houston, and as soon as the DVD came out, I got a copy. I've watched it a couple of times, and I like it even better now than I did the first time.

I mean, what's not to like? You have your pirates, your treasure map, your sword fights, your chase scenes on land and sea, your Geena Davis . . . oh, yeah, I've already mentioned Geena Davis. You also have Matthew Modine, and I'll admit that he's no Errol Flynn. But then who is? Orlando Bloom? Gimme a break.

Another thing I like is the color. It might not be Technicolor, but it's close. There are some beautiful shots.

And the action scenes are great. You can tell what's happening all the time, as you can't in so many movies these days. Gladiator is the one that comes to mind. My theory used to be that nobody knew how to film action these days. But my new theory is that the actors and stuntpersons just can't cut it, so they do all that quick cutting to make you think something's happening when it isn't. Basil Rathbone and Errol Flynn would be appalled.

Anyway, no matter what anybody else says, I like Cutthroat Island a lot. (I also like The Long Kiss Goodnight, and not just because it has Geena Davis in it. But she's really good.)

1 comment:

James Reasoner said...

I've seen CUTTHROAT ISLAND only once, but I remember liking it a lot and would certainly watch it again. Nothing like a good pirate movie, as far as I'm concerned. I don't know why this one wasn't successful. For the most part Hollywood doesn't seem to know how to do action scenes anymore if there aren't any special effects involved.