A common gag in pirate films is the fragile morality between thieves. It hurts the film in its more serious and emotional moments, as it never fully grounds its drama. Perhaps it is just South Korean humor, but international audiences may struggle with its constantly shifting tone. The fast-paced editing cutting between the three groups is like a pinball just bouncing around rapidfire.
The villains, who are government officials and soldiers with stern faces, feel like they're in a more serious historical epic in a completely separate movie. Lead actress Han Hyo-joo is the cool-headed captain leading her crew of misfits and fools. Lead actor Kang Ha-neul's bandit screams his lines with big gaping laughs into the sky like a possessed cartoon character, or a younger Korean version of Toshiro Mifune from Seven Samurai. only to be saved by them slamming against a ship's sails. The tone is part-cartoon, part-wuxia and part-historical epic where whales swallow people and shoot them out of their blowholes. Or in some ways, it may be easier to think of it as a live-action cartoon with attention-deficit disorder. The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure is one wacky motion picture. With its rising popularity around the world, I was doubly curious to see what a South Korean pirate movie would be like. Pirate movies are practically an endangered film genre. Movies made at sea are rare and far between.
When I saw a brand new South Korean pirate movie on Netflix, I was immediately intrigued. It is nothing we haven't seen before but has an entertaining infectious energy if you go along with it. The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure is a wacky, high-octane swashbuckling adventure full of cartoonish action and silly gags.
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