At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Tortuga is a small , mostly rocky, island, off the north coast of Haiti. During the 'Golden age of piracy', it was a notorious hangout for pirates, continuously fought over by the Spanish, French and British. In this tale, there are basically two questions that constitute the plot 1) Is Captain Paxton(Ken Scott) going to be successful in his mission to destroy Captain Morgan's recent pirate empire, centered on Tortuga, that has brought the British colony of Jamaica to its knees? 2)What will be the ultimate fate of the accidental stowaway barefoot wildcat Meg(Leticia Roman). Dealing with her antics is the centerpiece of the first half of the film, during the transatlantic crossing to Jamaica. It's clear this flirtaceous street urchin lacks the graces of a traditional lady. Various of the crew try to instruct her on some of the graces of a lady, with mixed success. Fortunately, Paxton has a stock of lady's garments in a chest in his cabin, which keeps Meg, as well as the crew, entertained, seeing how she looks as a lady. The captain even gives her an heirloom necklace, having belonged to his mother. When the ship arrives at Jamaica, it's reluctantly agreed that she will disembark to find her fortune there, or somewhere else. However, fate soon brings her to the attention of the governor, who believes she is a lady, by her dress, and becomes accustomed to her as she recuperates in his mansion. He even proposes marriage to this young thing, and she accepts initially. But, eventually, it comes out that she was not raised as a lady, and in fact is enamored with Paxton, who seemingly hasn't yet made up his mind about her.....After overtaking the crew of one of Morgan's pirate ships, by trickery, Paxton pretends to make a partnership with Morgan, in which he will sell Morgan's large stash of booty in Jamaica and give half the profit to Morgan. However, Paxton then makes a deal with the governor, in which the governor will supply a number of warships and men for an invasion of Morgan's compound. This is immediately put into action. A complex plan of attack is organized, with Paxton going alone to infiltrate to the munitions room. He finds the barrels of gunpowder and lights a fuse to one. But before he can escape, Morgan, himself, enters and they have a sword fight, while the fuse is burning. Unfortunately, the powder explodes before they are finished, and essentially destroys the fort. Strangely, at the same time, the cannons on the wall explode! Seethe film(available at YouTube) to learn the unlikely and incomplete finale......The production values are good, if some of the events are unlikely. The inclusion of Leticia, as a frequently present character, is a definite plus, spicing up an otherwise humdrum story.

Captain and his crew just returning to England are forced to go back out to take on the villainous Captain Morgan who is based in Tortuga . He once had a deal with the Brits but things have gone sour and he's raiding every British ship he can come across. Add to the mix a stowaway wench who has eyes for the captain and you're in for a rather superficial evening at the movies. Sue me the film never clicked with me. Its not that the action is bad, its not, its just that the plot doesn't really hold your interest. At times it's too much talk and not enough action, especially in the early going. Worse still is the cast who while adequate, are never really engaging and it's not really a wonder that I never really recall seeing any of them in anything else. I never really cared and despite the film looking good I allowed my attention to wander to other things.

This is a fairly ordinary boys' pirate adventure memorable only for the over the top performance from Leticia Roman as the reluctant stowaway aboard Ken Scott's galleon embarked for the Caribbean and a battle of wits with Captain Henry Morgan (Robert Stephens) who has returned to his buccaneering ways after briefly working for the King of England.Roman acts as if she's just downed a pint of strong black coffee, and no doubt most self-respecting sailors would have thrown her overboard after having had their way with her. Somehow, though, not only does she make it intact all the way to Jamaica but she also manages to get Scott's insipid Captain Bart to fall in love with her.Robert Stephens as a slightly unhinged Morgan given to smacking the rump of his ever so slightly raddled lady companion is the highlight of the film, although he doesn't receive the amount of screen time he deserves. Curious to see British comedian Dave King appearing as one of Scott's swashbuckling sidekicks too. Other than that there really isn't a lot to say about this flick.

Sea captain Bart Paxton has a thankless task from the King of England. Henry Morgan, erstwhile ally of the crown, has set up a kingdom on Tortuga, whose buccaneers are robbing English ships at will and strangling the island of Jamaica. The Royal Navy can't attack Tortuga without igniting a new war with Spain, so the King is sending Paxton as a secret privateer to put an end to Morgan's depredations. And Meg, the young hellion who has stowed away on Paxton's ship, isn't making his job any easier.Unlike its predecessor The Black Swan or its contemporary Morgan the Pirate, Pirates of Tortuga casts Henry Morgan as a villain, the correct and natural role for that treacherous, rapacious, and brilliant man. The one difficulty is that the historical Captain Morgan died rich, contented, and even respectable, a most unsatisfying end for a movie villain. The movie deals with this problem straightforwardly, by constructing a sort of alternate history that shows what might have happened if Morgan had not chosen to answer King Charles's summons to England after his raid on Panama in 1671, with its very real attendant risk of imprisonment and execution, but instead had followed the course many of his fellow buccaneers did by raiding and looting indiscriminately. It would have been well within Morgan's power to set up the "buccaneer kingdom" on Tortuga that the movie shows.The plot is bare-bones, but serviceable: Paxton finds Morgan, Paxton poses as partner of Morgan to spy out Morgan's fortress, Meg flirts with the governor of Jamaica, but ultimately decides her heart truly lies with Paxton, Paxton defeats Morgan. But the denouement is a major disappointment: unimaginative, perfunctory, and implausible at once, and moreover, it fails to tie up Morgan's end of the story.Bart Paxton's part is well-written, a potentially dashing commander with real brains and imagination, but Ken Scott is unable to bring anything to the role but heroic blandness. Letitia Roman is certainly fetching as Meg, especially in her sailor's togs, and her bare-legged wriggling in Paxton's bed is a clear sign of the sexual revolution's tsunami roaring toward the beach of the Hayes Code. But looking beyond her physical charms, Meg's personality really has nothing to recommend her: she's not smart, brave, loyal, honest, or even charming.Robert Stephens' Henry Morgan is interesting, but ultimately ineffective. Stephens plays Morgan as a full-blown alcoholic, complete with the shakes. His Morgan is greedy (his eyes almost bug out when Paxton presents him with a chest full of guineas) and cruel, but credulous and unintelligent. He is fun to hate, as a good villain should be, but he lacks the frisson of menace that emanated from Rathbone's Levasseur or Newton's and Heston's Long John Silver.The supporting cast comes to the rescue, particularly Dave King as PeeWee and Stanley Adams as Montbars. King is appealing, dashing, and sometimes very funny, while Adams' Montbars is pure, unbridled appetite, fat and greedy and bullying, a perfect pirate.Visually, the movie is outstanding. The shots of the sailing ships are sublime, the colors are sumptuous, and the islands and cliffs are magnificent. The movie is fun to watch, and while it won't stay with you long, it avoids the gratuitous absurdity of many pirate movies.Rating: ** ½ out of ****.Recommendation: Worth a rental after it leaves the new release shelves.