This mega-budget action epic flopped at the box office with a resounding thud; and it probably deserved that fate for not living up to its lavish potential. But Cutthroat Island has had a healthy shelf life on video; and digital video disc can only improve the film's potential as a spectacular guilty pleasure. Geena Davis plays Morgan; the swashbuckling daughter of an aging buccaneer who inherits one-third of a map to a secret pirate treasure. But the map is in Latin; and she needs a lowdown thief and scoundrel (and presumably a Latin scholar); played by Matthew Modine; to translate the map when they obtain the other two pieces. That's when the mayhem begins and the dashing duo race for the treasure against Morgan's scheming uncle (Frank Langella) and a hoard of greedy pirates. With wall-to-wall action ably handled by Davis's then-husband Renny Harlin; Cutthroat Island is more fun than its box-office performance would indicate. --Jeff Shannon