Yo ho ho, and a bottle of errors

Rating: Null/10 (15 September 2003)

I have to admit to enjoying this film in spite of my self. What makes it even more fun, though, is the many innacuracies and errors, the most important of which I list here for your irritation/amusement.
1. The date. Much of the action in this film takes place in Port Royal, a city that was utterly destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned in 1692. However, the fire-buckets on board of HMS Dauntless are inscribed with the royal monogram of GR, which indicates that the film must take place before 1692 and after 1714, when George I came to the throne.
2. The punchline of one of the jokes is "You've clearly never been to Singapore," which is entirely understandable as Singapore was not founded until 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, after whom business class on singapore airlines is named.
3. The Rank of Commodore. Captain Norrington is 'promoted' to Commodore, even though this rank does not exist at this time, except as a stopgap, temporary appointment when a captain is given temporary command of a squadron.
4. Flags. Letting the Commodore inaccuracy slip, they failed to properly denote Norrington's rank as none of the ships which he commanded ever flew the broad pennant that indicates that a Commodore is aboard. Also, if the film is set before 1692, then the British engisn is incorrect, as the combined scottish and english flag was not introduced until 1707, although to be fair they do get good marks for displaying correct commissioning pennants
5. The ships. Though I have no complaint against the pirate ship as a harmless fantasy, the ships of the Royal Navy, in particular HMS Dauntless, are from at least 50 years after the film's period.