shoobe01-1 I watched this back when it was new, and recalled it being reasonably adventurous trash, but workable. Just watched it again and... OMG. So bad. Not just in the details, but so badly paced it is boring, so badly written it is too improbable to be scary adventure. And weird, weird choices. There's happy adventure music when the pirates attack shipping and as they murder innocent people, for example. Oh and minus another point for everyone but the pirates being totally incompetent. No one can shoot, and the USCG guys are buffoons for no clear reason. None of the fights have any tension because the bad guys are so destined to win every time.

rdoyle29 Michael Caine plays a reporter who runs afoul of modern day pirates when investigating a rash of ship disappearances in the Caribbean. His son tags along with him and the pirates attempt to make him one of them. This film came with high commercial hopes since it's an adaptation of a Peter Benchley novel, but it tanked, mostly because it's not a very good film. The biggest problem is the pirates who largely come off as more goofy than threatening. A lot of great actors, lead by David Warner, fail to menace Caine convincingly or do much of anything interesting. Michael Ritchie is a really odd choice to direct this, and I'm sure some of the bizarrely unsuccessful tone can be credited to this choice.

ThatMOVIENut A journalist (Michael Caine) and his son embark on a trip to investigate a series of strange disappearances in the Caribbean. Turns out the ships have been hijacked by a colony of inbred pirates (led by David Warner). Our heroes get captured and are tortured by the insane bunch, and even get to witness first hand their ruthless battle for greed and survival.After a jumbled and woefully written opening, the late Michael Ritchie's pirate thriller finds its feet when it arrives on the titular location. From there, some well staged, almost tongue in cheek set pieces involving violent pirate raids on various ships, set to a Ennio Morricone score that goes from Williams-like whimsical, akin to an old Hollywood swashbuckling score. We also have decent performances from its adequate cast, especially the supporting cast who get into the wacky & surreal mix of roles as the mad pirates, as well as a rather imposing Warner as their bloodthirsty leader. Caine and the kid actor are fine, but this was sadly during his 'paycheck' era so it falls short of some of his finer hours.Indeed, this is a project that was not the finest hour of many; aside from Caine, the opening is very poorly paced, directed and written, with incredibly stiff, obvious dialogue that sags so much it becomes nigh-unbearable, and it feels like it takes an eternity for the pirates to make a show after the little teaser at the very start. Seriously, it's a slog and I imagine would be enough to turn off less generous viewers. However, that second, more satirical half (playing to Ritchie's strengths) did give me enough smiles to come out satisfied. Genre enthusiasts only, really.

Scott LeBrun Now here's a highly amusing, diverting, trashy and silly movie that certainly entertains, coming up with some scenes that are true whoppers. It's scripted by author Peter Benchley, based on his novel, and deserves credit for being an honest-to-God modern-day pirate movie when that sort of thing had long since fallen out of vogue. Said pirates are a very primitive bunch, living by their own code and with their own peculiar dialogue; they're discovered by investigative journalist Blair Maynard (Michael Caine, in one of his slumming acting gigs), who wanted to look into the matter of people and boats disappearing in the Caribbean. When the pirates get a hold of Blair and 12 year old son Justin (Jeffrey Frank), they figure he'll be able to provide stud services and improve their deteriorating gene pool. (For one thing, the pirate colony is awfully short on women.) In no time flat, they manage to brainwash Justin and turn him against his dad. So for the balance of the movie, it's a story of Blair doing his best to tolerate the ways of the pirates while always formulating plans for escape. Beautiful and scenic locales, impressive widescreen photography (by Henri Decae), great costumes, and typically fine music by Ennio Morricone (in the spirit of what John Williams did for the film version of Benchley's "Jaws") all help in the presentation of this wild movie. One can tell these filmmakers are keeping their tongues in their cheeks, as witness the two standout scenes. One has a drug smuggler foolishly attempting to be Bruce Lee as he has a battle with a pirate - complete with "whooping" vocal effects, and the resolution in which Blair conveniently finds a means of dealing with the pirate problem. (I'll say no more and leave you to discover this brilliant scene for yourself.) Fun supporting performances are also a help, with David Warner as the pirate leader, who's more articulate than any of the others, Angela Punch McGregor as pirate woman Beth, Frank Middlemass as cheerful Dr. Windsor, and familiar character actors Zakes Mokae as Wescott and Brad Sullivan as Stark. Overall, "The Island" is good fun, and surprisingly nasty in terms of on screen violence. Worth a look as long as people go in knowing not to take it too seriously. Seven out of 10.