Fight Clip Club: Cutthroat Island

A ship!? I find myself being fired upon by an entire ship!

After having some fun with Big Trouble in Little China last week, I found myself Musing about other bad movies that I love anyway, or that are cult classics, or both. What are the cauldrons of hot cheese you’ve found delicious through the years, and do any populous audiences agree with you? I’d say that the fans of Big Trouble are legion, but one of my earnestly favorite movies, one that I am fond of for being a big part of my life in my early college years, and one that I love unironically, is notorious cinematic pirate flop, Cutthroat Island.

It’s got sweeping landscapes, swashbuckling as well as derring-do, classic pirate and thief tropes that yet remain tasty as heck. It’s got a stellar cast who gleefully chomp on the sets and the quippy script alike – I mean, c’mon, Frank Langella as our Big Bad? With a serrated scimitar? Look me in the eye and tell me that doesn’t rock. But I think what sets this movie apart is its action. Enormous, ridiculous, expensive action comprised of explosive stunts and lengthy fight scenes. Action movie one liner quips and a colorful cast of pirates on both sides that are much more engaging and fleshed out than the later (more popular) franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean.

Is that why this movie flopped, when Pirates did so well not too long after? Were we just not ready for that level of piratical swashing blows? I can’t explain it, but what I can do is take you on a journey into just one wee facet of why I enjoy this movie so much. It’s the final fight, and it’s after the paywall.

Fight Clip Club is the only series on Zuko’s Musings which is paid-only. If you’d like to join the Club, upgrade to paid, or drop me a line and I’ll give you an in.