Long before Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean franchise took
center stage in mainstream films, Hollywood had tried to produce action films
involving pirates before. Sadly, pretty much all of them were dead on arrival,
including today's feature film. All managed to accrue massive budgets with
little to no pay off when they were released theatrically. All of which also
were much more light in tone and more about being a family friendly adventure.
However, for the infamous director Roman Polanski, he wanted to make a film in
the same vein (involving comedic elements), but also sought to use the usual
tropes that are commonly associated with pirates. That's rare because not a lot
of pirate films utilize these attributes, mostly because they just aren't very
nice things to do.
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| "Jack Sparrow ain't nothing without me" |
The story is about a pirate named Captain Red (Walter
Matthau) and his first mate Frog or Jean-Baptiste (Cris Campion). While out at
sea, they happen to cross paths with the Neptune vessel, owned by the
Spaniards. Aboard is Don Alfonso de la Torré (Damien Thomas), Boomako (Olu
Jacobs) and María-Dolores de la Jenya de la Calde (Charlotte Lewis). Upon being
captured by the Spaniards, Boomako shows Capt. Red and Frog a special artifact
on the ship located in the armory. With that Capt. Red makes it his mission to
take over the ship and take the treasure for himself. All the while, Frog and
Maria begin having feelings for each other. The script was written by Gérard Brach
and Roman Polanski and for the most part the film entertains quite well. For
just a random adventure of two main characters, a lot happens.
The are two weak areas to the script though. First is the
relationship Maria and Frog have for each other. It's not the strongest of
chemistry's, neither does it completely get fleshed out. It is definitely not
the same magnitude as Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner. The other issue is the
highly attractive artifact Capt. Red has his eyes fixed on. At one point, the
captain of the Neptune states that it holds a curse, almost like the ark of the
covenant from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). But nothing comes of it,...so
what was the point of even bothering to mention it? Aside from this though the
rest of the film sticks to what it does best. While Walter Matthau is no action
star nor are the action sequences themselves choreographed like they are today,
the adventure is still there and so is the energy.
There's swashbuckling sword fights, blood, musket shoot outs
and all kinds of sneaky things going on. This specifically is where the comedy
works too. Being that Walter Matthau has comedic chops, his facial expressions
and reactions to various situations will produce the needed levity to all kinds
of situations. Even the other actors like Damien Thomas, Charlotte Lewis and
Olu Jacobs have a couple scenes that features them. It's also quite amazing
just how detailed everything is when it came to the practical effects. The
costume design is very authentic and the way the actors play the royal
Spaniards is downright uncanny. As compared to Matthau who plays it equally as
memorable but to the exact opposite that the others play their roles.
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| Charlotte Lewis |
The set pieces are astonishing to look at being that nothing
was green screen at all. The Neptune ship itself is massive. This is depicted
exceptionally by Witold Sobocinski, the films cinematographer. The sweeping
shots of the ship and ocean surrounding it is as real as it comes. Not to
mention the land scenes as well. Perhaps the most impressive supporting
component though was composer Philippe Sarde's musical score. While his credits
rarely delve into the domestic territory, this collection of tracks is
definitely a film score enthusiast should have. There may not be a reoccurring
main theme for this film, but the tunes created for each scene is charismatic
and appropriate to the situation without losing its character. A great
selection of pieces.
Points Earned --> 7:10
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