Act of Piracy (1988) User Reviews

Mean-spirited and below average.

[Renaldo Matlin · 5/10 · 31 July 1999]

Rich guy Busey takes the matters into his own hands when his yacht is hijacked and his family taken hostage by cold blooded terrorists. Brutal "action-adventure" not worthy an actor of Gary Busey's calibre.

Act of Piracy is video store shelf-filler

[tarbosh22000 · 5/10 · 16 March 2023]

All Ted Andrews (Busey) wanted to do was take his two children, some friends, and his new girlfriend (Mulford) on a nice cruise to Australia on his yacht. It was there that a wealthy buyer was going to buy said yacht. His ex-wife Sandy (Bauer) was against the trip, but Ted ends up setting sail anyway, and all hell breaks loose when the Andrews family and the whole crew of the vessel are victims of an ACT OF PIRACY.

A group of international terrorists (they're always international terrorists), led by Jack Wilcox (Sharkey), Sean Stevens (Vosloo), and Herb Bunting (Gampu) kill everyone on board, and kidnap the children. What they didn't count on was that Ted Andrews survived the massacre and is an ex-military mastermind out for revenge. He and his former wife team up to get the baddies and save the children. Their journey takes them from Zimbabwe to Greece, but will the Andrews parents take back their children and stop international terrorism once and for all?

Act of Piracy is standard fare. Busey, surprisingly, doesn't go over the top in his trademarked fashion. Maybe because it was 1988 and that was before he really went insane, but he doesn't spout any wacky sayings, he doesn't really scream or make funny faces at people, and he never calls anyone a "butthorn" or anything of the sort. By Busey standards, he's actually kind of restrained here.

Arnold Vosloo, his then-wife Nancy Mulford, and director John "Bud" Cardos quickly reunited in the same year - '88 of course - after Skeleton Coast to do this. While we certainly enjoyed seeing Busey, Vosloo, Gampu, and Mulford all together, the movie itself is middling, middle-of-the-road and has no surprise twists and turns that keep audiences hooked. There's a dearth of action throughout most of the running time and fans likely won't be satisfied by that.

Ray Sharkey looks like a cross between a young Hugh Jackman and a young Steven Bauer. He has a knock-down, drag-out fight with Busey at the end, but this old tub of a movie is pretty waterlogged.

If any movie was shot at this time in South Africa (as plenty were), Ken Gampu had to make an appearance. If anything, Act of Piracy could have used more Gampu. Also, during the opening credits, we see "introducing Dennis Park as Dennis Bryant". Not only was Park in some things before this, including No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) as "Karate Fight Referee", 'Piracy was his last movie role to date. He obviously wanted to end his movie career with a bang.

In the end, Act of Piracy is video store shelf-filler that doesn't exactly scream "see me now!" - really we would only recommend it to die-hard Busey fans.

Just awful

[christophaskell · 24 October 2003]

I sat through it, turned it off, ejected it, rewound it, and went on about my day as if nothing had happened. A few hours later I'm sitting down to write this review and I can think of absolutely nothing to write. I know I watched it, and stayed awake for the whole thing, but I was so entirely unaffected by this that here, only a few hours later, I've already forgotten everything. Stay away from this for no other reason than it's terrible. Not a single part is remotely interesting. Rating: 5/40

Appalling!!!

[london_mg · 1/10 · 27 December 2004]

This film was so bad and naff I had to fast forward some of the scenes to get through the predictable & cringy parts. It's obviously the epitome of an 80's B movie, with mostly B actors and B acting. Busey fails abysmally in his attempt at playing the good, heroic, family guy but ends up competing (for an Oscar nomination?) with Laura Warner in a series of hilarious over-the-top dual performances. Everything from the stunts, production, sound, (tacky) soundtrack, picture etc. cheap and it's weird because it looks like the children's voices were dubbed with adult ones which makes their performance even worse than it is already. There is absolutely nothing memorable from neither of the characters or lines apart from perhaps the gun tooting blonde bimbo who gets chucked out of the Hotel balcony but only for obvious reasons LOL. Ray Shark is totally unbelievable as the head of the terrorist gang and just ends up making you laugh pitifully at him and his character's style. I was baffled to find out that Arnold Vosloo (perhaps I shouldn't be given his B-movie portfolio) was in this rubbish as well, looking like some gangly Euro boy in full 80's B-movie gear & hairdo. It makes other second-rate films with him in like "Con express" look like Hollywood masterpieces. My advice to anyone, is stay away from this horrible film! Sorry but I'm really shocked at some of the comments I've read here, is there something I missed?? John Cardos is lucky to have such loyal fans

Busey at the helm, steers average movie cruise fare

[videorama-759-859391 · 6/10 · 16 April 2017]

Watching Busey in other roles, he's never gonna match his electric and mesmerizing take on Buddy Holly, or of course, be nominated for an Oscar again. Here in this straight to video action pic, with some smarts, but really falling just above an average time passer, his wild and raving performance, galavanting around on his vengeful quest with his ex (the beautiful Bauer) to catch the bad dudes (a terrorist group) who have his kids, is really one of the few highlights to this film, it's nice music score, another one (something you would expect to hear in a t.v. show). Part of the terrorist group, headed by the late Sharkey, one of the great movie villain actors, is his luscious wife (Mulford) who was parading as Busey's girlfriend, prefore, his nightmare began. She takes one too many falls, you could say. Also a tongueless slightly overweight Columbian woman, who you slightly feel sorry for. Their plan is to use Busey's boat an an operative base, only the kids came on board too. Busey had survived, adrift, after going overboard, and washing up on the beach. Location wise, there are some really nice sights, where the ending kind of drags on, as in the final battle between Sharkey and Busey, as his lovable sailing possession goes down like the Titanic. Bauer, a so underused actress, gives a real notable performance as her divorced, suffering wife. She's better than Busey here, his character, I thought, was really a selfish ignorant d..k, especially in his barging start. He's really a jackass, one scene in a taxi, that has him saying to Bauer "How did things get so ugly between us?" was a laughable moment, as was some others, from his pigheaded character. Sharkey again, brings us a real believable nasty villain, you'll love to hate, and hate you will. There's nothing really special about Act Of Piracy, except it's different story, but I guess you could call it semi exciting watch. Mulford in sexy pink lingerie, is a sight to behold though.

Another Busey home run

[ZARATHUSTRA55 · 10/10 · 29 January 2006]

Gary Busey is no actor-He is dynamite.Firing through this movie like a man long used to bottling lightening and still loving it; even the most casual observer will be incapable of indifference. His turn here as Ted Andrews,(a Vietnam vet with a heart of gold that however tolerates no nonsense)is as nonsensical as it is enthralling.But by goodness is it enthralling. The plot, it has to be said, is somewhat unfeasible: 'Man talks his ex-wife into accepting that their children ought to accompany him on an unnecessary and dangerous Journey to Australia to sell his luxury Yaught. On route said Yaught is attacked by a bunch of evil blah blah blah blah ad nauseum' - However, in this wonderful world of Gary Busey, such things as plot and feasibility seem quite peripheral and simply nothing to worry about. In fact, i challenge anyone to consider in a cool manner such rational things whilst faced with the captivating, rich and insane flicker sitting just behind Gary Busey's eyes. Absolutely brilliant!

From South Africa, without love

[lor_ · 26 May 2023]

My review was written in August 1990 after watching the film on Warner/Lorimar video cassette.

Standard action pic teaming Gary Busey and Ray Sharkey had a curious production and release history, and is finally arriving in video stores via Warner Home Video.

Filmed independently in South Africa and Greece in fall 1987, the picture was acquired for home video by Lorimar and duly inherited by WB when it swallowed Lorimar. Film was finally released theatrically in March in Miami by N. Y.-based indie Blossom Pictures.

Feature isn't of much interest, as Busey (introed in the opening scene riding his motorcycle sans helmet!) portrays a guy taking is yacht in Australia to sell it and who's victimized when mercenary Sharkey hijacks the boat.

Story, set in Zimbabwe and Greece, doesn't make much sense and is merely an excuse for exploitation footage. Notable is Sharkey's unmotivated killing of lovely Nancy Mulford: he throws her off a skyscraper balcony for no reason, cueing a vivid stunt. Maybe he just saw Busey's WB hit "Lethal Weapon", copying the opener.

Helmer John (Bud) Cardos, who also filmed "Skeleton Coast" and "Outlaw of Gor" in southern Africa, emphasizes stunt work to the detriment of his acting contingent. Breda Bauer, as Busey's estranged wife, is particularly shrill. Supporting cast includes many South African character actors including Joe Stewardson and Arnold Vosloo.