Rousing romp ofmaritime adventure has some problems with historical continuity...

Rating: 5/10 (2 October 2003)

Although this film is a rousing romp of maritime adventure, it has some problems with historical continuity. Characters seem to randomly inhabit any century from the 16th to the 18th, roughly from the period of Edward VI to George III, willy nilly. The action and characters are everything they need to to be and a bit more ( you can just about smell Depp's Jack Starling.) This film makes me appreciate all those Flynn, Power, Derek and Payne movies which managed to capture the period and flavor of bygone Romantic eras with much greater dispatch and lower budgets. But I'm glad to see this genre again after too long an absence from our screens. Great fun, all in all.