by Joseph Tiberia

The Pirates! Band of Misfits is a fun thrill ride of pirates and treasure seeking. The film stars Hugh Grant as Pirate Captain with a supporting cast of David Tennant (Doctor Who), Selma Hayek, and Jeremy Piven.

Directed by Peter Lord, the film is about the Pirate Captain trying to win the best pirate award. Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.

The film takes us on a journey of adventure and the importance of family.

I’ve seen almost all of Peter Lord’s work and the basis of his work has been about humans and animals connection to each other (obviously executed in a fun way that kids can enjoy) from Wallace to Shaun the Sheep to The Pirates.

Pirates is another fine addition to the Peter Lord library.  The film is full of wit and characters and is suite for the whole family.

The best part of the film is the second half when the story goes into full swing and the characters fight back against the bad guys.  The action scenes were among the best I’ve seen in a stop motion movie let alone a Peter Lord production.

The film itself had a “big screen” feel to it as if the filmmakers intended to have people see this in a movie theater. Many parts of the film just wouldn’t be the same on a small TV screen, such as the battle scenes.

The only thing I had a problem with the film was the very subtle British humor that replaced a lot of the more physical comedy/jokes, which I’ve known from Lord and his films. There were references to movies like The Elephant Man, which I don’t know many kids will understand.

I happen to have a soft spot for the film company that produced the film (Aardand) because not only are they one of the few major production companies that can compete with Pixar, they are also responsible for Wallace and Gromit show.

This was a great family movie overall. I recommend it to all families should go and see it!

Tip? Don’t waste your money on the 3D.

Joseph S. Tiberia is a recent graduate of Adelphi University with a major in Video/Film Production. He has interned for Half Yard Production and NYC’s Face-Off comedy troupe. He specializes in cinematography freelance work. Joseph is also a movie reviewer for Totalfilmnerd.com. His favorite film of all time is A BitterSweet Life.