After being stuck in abysmal boredom and self-searching, I have finally returned! I know you all missed me. No? Ah, well; I’m back that’s all that matters. So let’s get into a review!

I found out about this film when I was searching for awesome pirate movies; I’m surprised how rare they are. It seems like the only good pirate movies are this one, The Black Swan (which I haven’t seen yet), and the Pirates of the Caribbean films. If anybody knows of any other good pirate films, leave a comment.

Up until a few months ago, I had never seen an Errol Flynn movie. In fact, I barely knew much about him outside of playing as Robin Hood and being referenced in Looney Tunes cartoons. I found out he was a bit of a bohemian, sleeping with many women and drinking like there’s no tomorrow, which earned him some respect from me. But I also found out he was pretty good as an actor after watching The Adventures of Robin Hood, which is a fucking great movie that I’d recommend to everyone. So now, I decided to check out his most well-known pirate movie, Captain Blood, to see if it was as good as critics say. Sure enough, it is.

Flynn stars alongside Olivia de Havilland and Basil Rathbone, who both starred with him in Robin Hood as well (and the latter of which has the coolest name ever). He plays Peter Blood, a doctor who gets arrested under the orders of a corrupt king and sold into slavery. While in slavery, he manages to round up his fellow slaves and help them escape during a Spanish raid on their town. They steal a ship and sail around the Caribbean pillaging, plundering, and otherwise pilfering their weasely black guts out. And Peter Blood now sails under the moniker, Captain Blood! (*Cue menacing music*)

As I was watching this movie, three things ran through my mind: 1) The possibility that Errol Flynn banged Olivia de Havilland senseless behind the scenes; 2) The fact that Kevin Kline is a spitting image of Flynn and should play him in a movie; 3) The fact that this is more of a character film than anything else. It seems to deal more with how he deals with being a pirate and how his contempt for the corruption in the English kingdom has driven him to such a lifestyle. I think this gives a lot more depth to the movie as well as to the character of Peter Blood. It also makes it a bit more enjoyable because you feel a connection with him as he goes through these events.

One thing though that is most likeable about this movie is that it is truly EPIC. The great score and brilliant editing make scenes like Blood’s duel with Captain Levasseur (Rathbone) and the climactic ship battle scene truly gripping and exciting.

OVERALL: Captain Blood is a great pirate film; probably one of the best ever. Definitely go check it out.

RATING: 5 out of 5