THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512260174
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E9 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
WAS THERE actually this much gunpowder in the 17th century - the entire century?
A lot of money has been invested in ``Cutthroat Island'' to re-create the pirate adventure movies that once starred Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster. This time, Geena Davis, the wife of producer/director Renny Halin, plays ``the notorious lady pyrate,'' Morgan Adams.
Yes, it is action-packed - to the brim. There's a carriage race that rivals any auto chase in any equally mindless movies. There are numerous sword fights. The grand finale is a high-seas encounter between two ships. Break out the grappling hooks.
It is all timed to a thunderingly overwrought musical score composed by John Debney. The music often seems more spirited than what we're seeing.
If only that was enough.
The trouble with ``Cutthroat Island'' is it seems much too contemporary. The humor and look are ``in,'' giving you the feeling that this movie is a little afraid of being a real pirate movie. It wants to be a bit mod and a bit campy, too. Davis and co-star Matthew Modine look out of place in their sea-going outfits.
Harlin has proved his credentials with ``Die Hard 2'' and ``Cliffhanger,'' but the action scenes here look staged. The carriage race, for instance, has none of the spontaneity and recklessness of, say, Burt Lancaster in ``The Crimson Pirate.''
Davis' forte is the romantic comedy, in which she plays the sexy klutz. She's not too believable as a klutzy pirate. In a fencing match, Maureen O'Hara could take her with one hand tied behind her back.
At one time, there was talk that ``Cutthroat Island'' would be a remake of ``Anne of the Indies,'' which starred Jean Peters as a real-life pirate.
Efforts to revive the genre have failed with such grandiose efforts as Roman Polanski's ``Pirates'' and James Goldstone's ``Swashbuckler.'' It is unlikely that MGM will make a profit on its whopping $65 million investment. The film has been kept on the shelf for quite a while.
Part of the problem is the script. It's no more than that old plot about a treasure map and everyone racing to see who can get there first.
Modine, in a role originally intended for Michael Douglas, plays a slave purchased at auction because he can translate the Latin instructions on the map. The character is particularly wimpy, constantly needing to be rescued by the heroine.
``Cutthroat Island'' gives you a great deal to see. The trouble is it never wants to take itself seriously. No one is ever really in danger, either. Action scenes only work if there is tension.
All the gunpowder and swashbuckling doesn't make up for a plot. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
MGM
In ``Cutthroat Island,'' Geena Davis is not very believable as a
klutzy pirate.
Graphic
MOVIE REVIEW
``Cutthroat Island''
Cast: Geena Davis, Matthew Modine, Frank Langella, Stan Shaw,
Harris Yulin
Director: Renny Harlin
Screenplay: Robert King and Marc Norman
Music: John Debney
MPAA rating: PG-13 (some language, cartoonish violence)
Mal's rating: Two stars
Locations: Cinemark and Greenbrier in Chesapeake; Circle 4 and
Maingate in Norfolk; Kemps River, Lynnhaven Mall and Pembroke in
Virginia Beach.
by CNB