Treasure Island Review: Adventure Classic Gets A Thrilling Revision

Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate saga enjoys a polished refresh, focusing on its coming-of-age aspects and amplifying its pop culture influence to explore new avenues of classism and capitalist greed.

Treasure Island(1883) was a seminal novel in many respects, establishing a template of wooden legs, hidden treasures, mutinous devilry, and, naturally, parrot wingmen that would burrow deeply into both language and legend. Not just a pioneer of everything piratey, it embodied the core principles of adventure storytelling. Bravery, allegiance versus betrayal, relatable jeopardy, and an epic quest against harsh adversity.

This lively reboot retains the original’s blueprint and archetypes while reinvigorating the narrative, adding new protagonists, and warping existing character arcs. In doing so, it keeps the pace, scope, and spirit of the book while offering an innovative perspective and unexpected direction to its time-worn lore. Even the most ardent literary purists will respect the show’s reverence and be totally unprepared for its devastating new plot twists.

As one of the most acclaimed villains of all time, Long John Silver’s casting and depiction were always going to be key. The good news is David Oyelowo is unequivocally outstanding in the role. Reimagined with a Jamaican heritage and brooding with a lethal hybrid of rage and charm, he mesmerises in every scene. Oyelowo’s range and control are award-worthy in his portrait of a paradox whose charisma is only eclipsed by his greed and is just as likely to snuff out life as heroically save it.

Elsewhere, the rest of the cast are clearly relishing the clever writing and meaty melodrama. Jim Hawkins gets a mental superpower upgrade and Tom Sweet, so memorable in The Childhood of a Leader, milks his innocence and bravado for maximum empathy.

His mother, Bess, is far more prominent than in the novel to rebalance the gender slant. Hayley Atwell delights with a fiery-eyed performance that counteracts the writer’s decision to make her character oddly slutty. It’s a strange misstep in otherwise elegant writing, committing to expanding the novel’s male-centric world, only to overtly sexualise its new inhabitant. Atwell, however, does more than enough sterling emoting to minimise the desperation and temper the titillation.

This six-part swashbuckler is a joint commission between the UK (Paramount+) and the U.S. (MGM+), and Playground Entertainment brings its trademark finesse to tighten this loose adaptation into a respectful update brimming with modernist flourishes.

Paul Walker, William McGregor, and Jeremy Lovering share the directing responsibilities. The latter two bring immaculate drama credentials with Sherlock and Poldark, respectively. All three handle the historical setting and rousing set pieces with economy and panache.

The overall vibe is reminiscent of a flagship BBC drama of yesteryear such as Pride and Prejudice, The Buccaneers or Wolf Hall, comforting Sunday evening viewing but with more bloody violence, rum glugging and parrots. Its attention to detail and period ambience feels weirdly wholesome; however, it avoids the stuffiness and dank rigour of most classic literature productions with a sense of fun that doesn’t dilute its relatively edgy social commentary. The added element of espionage even gives it a slight ripple of Georgian-era James Bond.

Exciting and addictive, this overhaul of a beloved cultural touchstone is excellent entertainment with fantastic performances and an engaging air of mischief, digging up the riches of landmark storytelling for the streaming generation with style and substance.

★★★★

Streaming in the UK on Paramount+ from 12th October / Tom Sweet, David Oyelowo, Hayley Atwell, Jack Huston, Tomer Capone, Craige Els, Tristan Sturrock, Neil Pendleton / Dir’s: Paul Walker, William McGregor, Jeremy Lovering / Paramount+