Cutthroat Island

Directed by Renny Harlin, Cutthroat Island follows Geena Davis’ Morgan Adams as she and a wily criminal (Matthew Modine’s William Shaw) attempt to track down a legendary treasure before a ruthless pirate (Frank Langella’s Dawg Brown) can get his hands on it. It’s a larger-than-life (yet comfortably familiar) premise that is, at the outset, employed to engaging, briskly-paced effect by Harlin, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Robert King and Marc Norman, does a fantastic job of infusing Cutthroat Island with a far-from-subtle (and palpably fun) feel that’s reflected in its broad performances and over-the-top set-pieces – with the latter certainly reflected in a terrific early sequence detailing Morgan’s rescue of William and their subsequent escape through Jamaica’s busy streets. And while both Davis and Modine are quite good here, with the two generally overshadowed by Langella’s sneering and appreciatively excessive turn as the mustache-twirling villain, Cutthroat Island, saddled with a palpably overlong running time, progresses into a second half that feels in desperate need of some serious streamlining – with this particularly true of a climactic battle that just seems to go on and on (and on). The end result is a decent-enough adventure picture that seems like it could (and should) be so much better, which is a shame, ultimately, given that Harlin has admittedly peppered the proceedings with appealing, memorable attributes.

**1/2 out of ****