This whole production was SUCH a wasted opportunity.
Good cast, good sets, good locations...and then an attempt to update a classic story by meddling with the plot. Bad idea.
The story is SUPPOSED to be about a boy (Jim) who gets dragged into the excitement of the pirates lives and is tempted away from the good side represented by Squire Trelawney (a thoroughly decent, albeit naive man), Dr Livesy (brave through and through) and his legitimate crew by the persuasive and morally ambiguous Long John Silver. When he realises how black-hearted the pirates are, he rejoins the 'right' side and helps save the day. By making Trelawney a villain (typical modern twist that anyone in a position of power must be corrupt and evil) and Dr Livesy a coward they ruined the whole message of the book.
Once they'd succeeded in destroying that aspect of the plot, they compounded matters by having the survivors tip all the gold into the sea at the end, having seemingly suddenly realised that material goods are evil.
Oh and killing off their newly formed 'evil' Trelawny in a ham-fisted attempt at showing that greed doesn't pay. Are you kidding me?! In one scene they destroyed the entire point of the film - all those people died for nothing then?! They might just as well have stayed at home... Rubbish. Absolute rubbish.
Oh and having Jim free Silver at the end - Nooooooo! He ESCAPES - he's LONG JOHN SILVER - he doesn't need a boy to free him..!!!!
Oh and finally Long John Silver is supposed to DISAPPEAR - you don't know if he makes it back to his wife or not - its left hanging there...with Jim liking to believe he made it...a far more satisfying end!
Maybe one day the screenwriters will actually read their source material....there's a reason why a classic is a classic...
As it is, you have to wonder why they even bothered giving it the same name as the classic tale...after all, it bore no resemblance to the contents of the book.
Good cast, good sets, good locations...and then an attempt to update a classic story by meddling with the plot. Bad idea.
The story is SUPPOSED to be about a boy (Jim) who gets dragged into the excitement of the pirates lives and is tempted away from the good side represented by Squire Trelawney (a thoroughly decent, albeit naive man), Dr Livesy (brave through and through) and his legitimate crew by the persuasive and morally ambiguous Long John Silver. When he realises how black-hearted the pirates are, he rejoins the 'right' side and helps save the day. By making Trelawney a villain (typical modern twist that anyone in a position of power must be corrupt and evil) and Dr Livesy a coward they ruined the whole message of the book.
Once they'd succeeded in destroying that aspect of the plot, they compounded matters by having the survivors tip all the gold into the sea at the end, having seemingly suddenly realised that material goods are evil.
Oh and killing off their newly formed 'evil' Trelawny in a ham-fisted attempt at showing that greed doesn't pay. Are you kidding me?! In one scene they destroyed the entire point of the film - all those people died for nothing then?! They might just as well have stayed at home... Rubbish. Absolute rubbish.
Oh and having Jim free Silver at the end - Nooooooo! He ESCAPES - he's LONG JOHN SILVER - he doesn't need a boy to free him..!!!!
Oh and finally Long John Silver is supposed to DISAPPEAR - you don't know if he makes it back to his wife or not - its left hanging there...with Jim liking to believe he made it...a far more satisfying end!
Maybe one day the screenwriters will actually read their source material....there's a reason why a classic is a classic...
As it is, you have to wonder why they even bothered giving it the same name as the classic tale...after all, it bore no resemblance to the contents of the book.