videorama-759-859391
This swashbuckling adventure romp, which I hadn't seen in over thirty years, best confirmed my level of enjoyment for it. Better known as Savage Islands, this less known film, is an Indiana Jones at sea, with Tommy Lee Jones, again in top form, as a notorious pirate, misinterpreted as a bad guy by many. With an old score to settle, once a friend and partner, now a sworn and ruthless enemy (Oz's Max Phipps, a late great Aussie acting import) has Jones locked up where he reflects on his memoirs and his lucrative profitable past, to a biographer and we're taken back in time to a young couple (O Keefe, a reverend, and his lovely bride to be Seagrove) who Jones helped to exact revenge, on Phipps, after wiping out a village and taking his bride to be, but of course reclaims her, only Phipps had survived. There are some beautiful sunny sea island shots, and the film is rich on atmosphere, filmed in he Pacific, where Seagrove is one fine treasure herself, where she also, clearly has the hots for Jones. Jones has never been hotter in a film, actually, the bearded look really suits him. Phipps is fun as the villain, and there's great choreographed action and scenery, in this very overlooked film. O Keefe's performance is too stiff, or some would say comically overdone, as a reverend, though I've never really thought much of him as an actor, except for Split Image, etc. A treasure of a viewing, with the scariest flying fox you'll ever see.
tone143
Right out of the gate,you know this is copping off of Raiders(any knob could see that).A super-cheese fest written(oddly enough)by one of the funniest screenwriters ever,the late great John Hughes--some of his wit managed to infuse itself onto the screen here,but it's a bare fizzle.If it'd been written as a all-out satire of Raiders & 30's & 40's thriller serials,it might have worked.You know,there are a lot of bad films out there,and why I've decided to pick on this one,I don't know.In fact,I've only written 2 or 3 negative reviews--I'm more likely to sing the praises of a great film,not having the need to elevate my insecure ego all the time.But maybe that's what I'm doing...but seriously,this IS a weak film--Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor,and I'm sure he wouldn't care much if this one disappeared off of his resume.
jeffreylish
Dude. I haven't thought of that movie in 20 YEARS.... my brother just called me out of the blue and asked me that. We were about 10 and 8 respectively. We were HUGE fans of Indiana Jones.. We had the complete set of Tops trading cards..("attacking the guards!")We watched the move NATE & HAYES many many times. They did a good job of playing to the Indiana Jones Phenomenon..we loved it...Im going to watch it again & see if I still feel the same way. Stay Tuned. . . . ............. ............... .............. .......... ................... ................ ......... .......... ........... ..................... .................... ..................... ............... .................................... ............... ................... .............
thomaslstillwell
This is a great movie, not necessarily the most historically accurate film, but its still a really good pirate movie. I'm not sure of the year this movie was supposed to take place but at the beginning they are trying to sell thirty-thirty lever-action rifles... which didn't come out until the early eighteen hundreds. throughout the rest of the movie there are a bold mixture of period firearms that don't really let you get a grasp on when this is supposed to take place. What I really found interesting was that it had a scene in the beginning with the rope bridge that was amazingly close to the famous scene in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom... especially since this movie came out a year before Temple of Doom. No matter what... it's a good watch.
