The Island

This film is a true oddity. In some ways it could have been a good children's film, with oddball pirates and exotic locations, but unfortunately is full of nudity and violence, particularly at its gory climax. Some truly bizarre scenes, such as the pirate who sets light to his hat during raids, a mating ritual involving some kind of mud and an otherwise naked man who carries a leather pouch in front of his genitals when he turns up on a hunt party. Intermingled among this weirdness is some intended comedy, sometimes inappropriate, such as when one pirate sniffs another's feet during a burial at sea. No doubt it is things like this which has earned the film a cult status.

But viewed as an adult film, it makes little sense. This starts early in the film when a gun shop is quite happy to sell a weapon to a 12 year old boy (are US gun laws really this slack?). Next Michael Caine decides to take his son with him on what is a potentially dangerous trip (his son wants Disneyland). Next a wacko pilot (and his pet pig) take Caine and son to Navidad where they are flagged down when trying to land (no explanation for this is given) and the plane crashes. The pilot is remarkably chipper about this. And this is merely the first 20 minutes before we meet the pirates and their peculiar ways.

This bizarreness does make the film strangely watcheable.

Michael Ritchie's telling of Peter Benchley's novel "The Island" is a true study in contrasts. "The Island" stars Michael Caine as Blair Maynard, an investigative reporter from NY in Miami looking into a rash of mysterious disappearances involving pleasure craft near the Caribbean island of Navidad. While on a fishing trip with his son, they are captured by a band of buccaneers directly descended from the fearsome 17th century pirate L'Olonois. The younger Maynard (Jeffrey Frank) is adopted by the murderous clan while Blair is kept alive only long enough for him to act as stud for a widowed pirate wench. Can he escape and rescue his son before he has outlived his usefulness? The contrasts in this film are not so much with the material as with the actors involved. The set-up scenes with the fishermen and the pleasure boaters are acted with the conviction and style of an in-house furniture store commercial. The night scenes are so poorly lit that one might need Braile subtitles to follow the action and the ending is a true letdown. On the other side of the doubloon -- the film is true to Benchley's meticulous research into the habits, tactics, speech and appearance of his piratical villains and Jean David Nau and his crew are well acted by David Warner and others. The pirate colony is an interesting glimpse into how the pirates may have existed in the 1600's and the suspense building up the pirate attacks is heart felt indeed. Not a cinematic masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but for those with a thirst for adventure and an interest in pirates, this movie delivers.

I wasn't sure what to expect with THE ISLAND. One critic thought it was smelly fish chum and another thought it was a great modern-day pirate story. I originally thought it was a sea creature story like Jaws.

I was thrilled to watch it this morning and discover that it is that rare breed of a film: so much is wrong like bad dialog & unlikely situations, bad acting from every single extra in the film (casting call at the community college everybody!!), kid turns WAY too quickly against dad but dad is probably the most incompetent dad you'll see (hey, this is much better than Disneyland...hired the worst pilot on the face of the planet because you're too cheap to pay for a boat and now held captive in a 3rd world nation. Thanks dad!), cheezy violence, that music that plays during the violent ship attacks would work for Errol Flynn but not here.

But it's films of this badness that can be more fun than so-called great films. Especially the first time you watch them. I'm the type that seeks out films like Bad Taste, Hysterical, Evil Dead and The Island because they go against the copycat stream of Hollywood films.

NOTE: I would've spanked that kid within an inch of his life and I don't even believe in physical punishment of children. I think we all agree here! LOL

I've always loved this movie. The first part of the film nicely details the troubled relationship between father and son (played by Michael Caine and Jeffrey Frank respectively)and helps you build a sympathy for them that then makes the final part of the movie all the more intense and gut wrenching as a result. As this is essentially a modern day pirate tale you can rest assured that there is no shortage of crusty pirate talk, filthy bodies (although the pirates wife's body makes for a pleasant exception to the rule)unrelenting carnage and David Warner,all of which add up to make a splendid entertainment! The locales are also lush and pleasing. You really have to love a film that can take such beautiful surroundings and add that edge of real menace and danger. The finale is a whole lotta fun too. Check this one out , it's a work of art!

Journalist and son investigate mysterious boat disappearances in Caribbean and end up victims themselves, kidnapped by pirates, real pirates, who still cling to the traditions of the buccaneer past. Funny how I've developed nostalgia for the bad films of the 70s and will more readily sit through them then 90% of the junk that's released today. As far as being quality effort movie making wise, this really isn't so bad. The story is unique and interesting, far-fetched yes. Most of the plot turns are equally nonsensical, but the acting and direction is first rate. The violence is heavy handed, and it really bugged me as a kid. But I think viewing it now; it well captures the true brutality of the pirate mentality. The one thing that really sinks the film is the kid. He's terrible and terribly annoying. They overdub his voice, like they seemed to do with kids quite often back then, and it's a total distraction. Also his characters transformation and brainwashing, never sits right with you. You are not ready to forgive him in the end as intended. Good weird sex, and some terrific action sequences however, make this movie worth a look and not nearly as awful as critics paint it.