REVIEWS

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"The Last Pirate" Written by Christian Pavlik | Reviewed by Antonio Rozich

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nyone who has a remote passion for fantasy stories about pirates will find intrigue and entertainment in Christian Pavlik's short but chilling script, "The Last Pirate." Thanks to Pavlik's vivid writing, by reading the script, you can visualize the images appearing on the screen.

Good news!

For the more demanding audience, they'll find that it’s not one of those cliché fantasy stories about pirates, treasure, and adventure.

The Last Pirate is far more than that

The story starts with the main character, Arius, waking up on a shore dazed and confused. This serves as a great introduction. The writer does a perfect job introducing the character and makes sure that not a single stone is left unturned.

Both the story and character build-up progress at a synchronized pace, making it extremely easy to follow what’s currently happening and what will happen next.

In my experience —

Whenever you get that feeling from reading the script, you know that the writer did a great job. Not to mention, the task of turning the story into a motion picture would be an easy job.

Fantasy stories about pirates don't always have a plot twist

Here's the thing —

We easily visualize each scene and dialogue, thanks to Pavlik's masterful writing. But the best part comes about mid-way into the script when the writer pulls off an intriguing twist that will leave the reader wondering “how did this happen?”

Without spoiling anything, it’s refreshing to see that someone attempted to create a potential pirate movie script without relying on the tropes created in the last decade; namely since "The Pirates of the Caribbean" started.

Instead, this script breaks the cliché and offers an alternative to what these fantasy stories might become.

Homage, Not Cliche

At the same time, the homage to the classic fantasy stories about pirates is there, creating a perfect mix of old and new, ancient, and modern.

Arius’ character is perfect as the leading character, as we follow the horrific fate that gives him sleepless nights. His destiny is locked and although he tries to fight it, deep inside he knows this is his fate —

And there’s nothing he can do.

But more importantly, the main character, Arius, isn’t the center point of the story. Instead, he’s more of a weapon the story uses to move forward and evolve.

As for scene transitions, although somewhat abrupt, they are masterfully done in the script as they build-up one on another.

Many scriptwriters struggle with this aspect of writing since it can be challenging to simultaneously present the story and stick to the film rules of writing.

Remember, each character, scene, action, and item need to be presented vividly so when the time comes to shoot the movie, the technicalities are covered.

Considering that, the writer needs to take on two challenges: writing a story worthy of a film and covering all the technical elements that will make the transition to the screen possible.

Fall short in one of the challenges and all can easily be for nothing.

Give us Fantasy Stories About Pirates

"The Last Pirate" is a script worthy of production. More importantly, it’s written for the possibility to continue on even long after this particular one is over.

All in all, Pavlik did a great job and if the world ever needed a refreshing pirate movie, this is the one.

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Antonio Rozich is as a copywriter who enjoys dangling into fiction more than anything. From film scripts to audiobooks and flash fiction Antonio loves them all. He rarely rejects an opportunity to either write his original story or help somebody improve theirs. Besides his usual copywriting, he also helps filmmakers with their screenplays, by editing them and finding ways to improve the initial filmmaker’s idea.