Woodyanders Journalist Blair Maynard (an admirably since performance by Michael Caine) and his bratty son Justin (the supremely annoying and unlikable Jeffrey Frank) stumble across a vicious gang of inbred modern-day pirates led by the ruthless John David Nau (David Warner in fine sinister form) living on a remote Caribbean island.Director Michael Ritchie, working from an absurd script by Peter Benchley, treats the delightfully bonkers and preposterous premise with general misguided seriousness while also delivering several jolting bits of nasty gore and inspired moments of dark humor (the sidesplitting highlight occurs when one guy on a schooner tries to fend off the pirates by using karate against them!). The cast play the loopy material with commendable conviction: Angela Punch McGregor keeps her dignity as feisty token fertile female Beth, Frank Middlemass contributes a witty turn as sarcastic and misanthropic anthropologist Windsor, Dudley Sutton has a ball as the unhinged Dr. Brazil, and Brad Sullivan pops up in a funny small part as low-rent airplane pilot Stark. Henri Decae's lush widescreen cinematography provides an impressive sumptuous look. Ennio Morricone's jaunty and rousing score hits the stirring spot. A gloriously ludicrous pip.

grantss Probably one of Michael Caine's worst movies, if not his worst.. Could have been an interesting and gritty movie, but some of the direction is plain bizarre. Basic plot was good, and the initial set-up was quite gritty, however, from a point it becomes rather frivolous. One moment the pirates are the bad guys, killing people in cold blood, next moment we're almost expected to like them and sympathise with them. From that point, every time the pirates attack a ship, a rather jaunty soundtrack is playing in the background, as if this is a kid's movie, or a comedy! But then they go and kill people, rather graphically.Plot does become rather random towards the end, too.Caine's performance is OK, especially considering what little he had to work with. Some of the pirates are a bit over-the-top though.

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.