Much time, money, effort and thought went into the making of Wicked Pictures' swashbuckling epic Conquest, and come awards nominations time, it should all pay off big time.

Gazing into our crystal ball, we see almost certain nods for art direction, music, videography, group sex, direction and last but certainly not least, the big enchilada, best video of da year. This is one handsome production with real ships, period costumes, gorgeous camera work and lighting, and striking sets.

Add to the mix seven steamy sex scenes, running the gamut from a simple boy/girl to a wild tropical island orgy, and Conquest is destined to be one of the top renters/sellers of the year. Stock early and stock often.

Set in the Year of Our Lord 1720, Conquest tells the tale of a plundering pirate supreme Blackheart (Vince Vouyer) and the woman (Jenna Jameson, looking positively fetching as a lusty, lascivious wench) who falls in love with him at first glance, stowing away on his ship to be with the man of her dreams. ONly later do we find out that the two have something far darker in common as well.

The opener is a three-guy-on-two-girl orgy in which Tom Byron (born to play a seafaring scoundrel; he does some great acting here) fucks Sahara Sands up the hyney, while Mark Davis stretches Missy's sphincter, then blows his messy load all over her lusty kisser.

Cut to Jameson and Shayla La Veaux going at it below decks on Blackheart's vessel. ONce again demonstrating just how creative she can be with her own saliva, Jameson drops a couple long, gooey loogies into LaVeaux's gaping pussy, inspiring her partner to return the favor by tongue-fucking Jameson's bung-hole, then stuffing a string of pearls up it and removing them moments later with her mouth. Mmm, mmm good. And a surefire pre-nominee for best girl/girl scene.

The girls soon thereafter find themselves servicing Blackheart's second-in-command (Alex Sanders), who winds up pounding LaVeaux's cunt while Jameson watches the action from between LaVeaux's legs, then catches Sanders' goo on her lips, cheeks and chin. If there's a lovelier sight all year than Jameson's gorgeous mug glistening with Sanders' frost in the soft candlelight, well, we certainly haven't seen it.

Next up is the aforementioned island orgy -- heavy on the cocksucking and the donut glazing -- between Blackheart's men and the native lovelies, including Kia. And while that's going on, Vouyer is engaged in his own bit of foreign diplomacy, puttin' it to Asia Carrera and her pierced pussy.

Cut to a dreaded British frigate, where Juli Ashton is presented top-side as a bawdy bit of bounty to the captain's hard-working men, who quickly show their appreciation by filling her up, then hosing her down. Finally, Vouyer and Jameson, borrowing a page from "From Here to Eternity," consummate the inevitable on the bach, near the surf.

Conquest further blurs the lines between exceptionally well-crafted pornography and mainstream Hollywood fare with heavy sexual content. And while Tinsel Town's last foray into the pirate genre, "Cutthroat Island," sank to the bottom with a vengeance, Conquest has many seas to traverse before it sails into the sunset.