Underrated Films: Cutthroat Island

This is a film that often seems to hit TV screens at Christmas and is a real favourite of mine. I feel like this is a truly underrated movie but it has also been panned by critics and I just don't know why. It has always been a favourite of mine. In fact when I watched this as a kid I wanted to become a pirate when most other little girls wanted to be princesses.

This was a film about pirates in the Caribbean before, well, Pirates of the Caribbean. It follows kick-ass pirate captain, Morgan, a woman who is on a quest to find a fabled treasure trove following the death of her father. She, however, is not the only one after the treasure and she is wanted for piracy by the crown. She has to beat the tide and her enemies to piece together a scattered map and find the treasure in time.

It's a fun film to put on over the holidays full of swashbuckling action with an awesome female protagonist. I think to call this film a "guilty pleasure" movie would offend the film far too much. It has some genuinely funny moments. There's eye candy for everyone be it the fiesty Morgan played by Geena Davis or the incorrigible Shaw as played by Matthew Modine.  It's a bit camp and cheesy in places but that's the fun of it. Skip the panto next year and see this instead.