The Bluff
Review: I do think the subgenre of swashbuckling films needs more additions. They were huge in the 2000s, really just because of Pirates of the Caribbean, but have become kind of a lost art in modern day. So I’m glad to see a new addition here. Unfortunately this addition was just okay. Starring Priyanka Chopra & Karl Urban the film follows a pirate captain who ransacks an island in search of someone from his past. Ismael Cruz Córdova, Safia Oakley-Green, Vedanten Naidoo, Temuera Morrison, and David Field also appear in supporting roles. The film is streaming on Prime Video and if you’re looking for a movie to watch that you can maybe not pay 100% attention to and turn your brain off for a bit, this is perfect for that! Maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
High: The setting worked, shoutout to the Cayman Islands (even though it was actually filmed in Australia, not the Cayman Islands). At times the background & setting was a little bland color wise and I think there was some great potential in the production design, even if it didn’t always deliver. The fight choreography was also okay enough.
Low: The performances. Karl Urban has the look and vibe to play a pirate. But his performance was just okay. And no hate, but I’m not sure if Priyanka Chopra is a very good actress or not. She wasn’t in this. One of my standout performers was Temuera Morrison, but that’s just because I like him. He is consistent in everything. He shows up. Says some cool lines in his cool accent. Maybe gets a little angry. And that’s that. I also enjoyed David Field as Pastor Bradley, but his screen time was fairly limited.
I think a lot of the blandness from the performances as a whole was due to so much of the film just being… nothing. Like I feel like there were 45 minutes in the film where nothing was happening, and in a 101 minute runtime, 45 minutes is way too long for nothing to happen. Sometimes nothing happening can still work in a movie, but not in an action-adventure pirate movie. Stuff needs to be happening.
Rating: 4.5/10
