Fans are being treated to one of the best pirate movies in years and a ‘must-watch’ action-adventure film thanks to a new release on Amazon Prime Video.
It’s also been described as if the popular Pirates of the Caribbean franchise showed their swashbucklers in a more realistic light ‘as psychotic murderers’, thanks to its impressive and bloody action sequences.
The Bluff, starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Karl Urban and directed and co-written by Frank E. Flowers, dropped today on the streaming platform.
Produced by Marvel filmmakers the Russo Brothers and sister Angela Russo-Otstot, The Bluff tells the story of Ercell ‘Bloody Mary’ Bodden (Chopra Jonas), a former pirate who has escaped her violent past to find peace in the Cayman Islands with her family and husband (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Ismael Cruz Cordova).
But she hadn’t counted on her notorious former captain, Connor (Urban), and his merciless crew hunting her down in a mission for revenge.
‘Ercell’s fight to save her family becomes a journey of redemption, as she reclaims her power and embraces the warrior she once was,’ the synopsis adds, promising ‘a gritty, adrenaline-fueled action-adventure about family, survival, and the indomitable strength of a mother’s love’.
The Bluff also stars Anemone and Out of Darkness actress Safia Oakley-Green and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones actor Temuera Morrison.
It has attracted praise for its ‘epic’ swordplay and battles, while critic Alex Maidy said the film ‘takes the conceits and storyline we have seen before and gives them a nice edge that keeps you glued to the screen to the very end’.
The Daily Express praised the ‘no holds barred’ creative fight sequences as well, alongside noting there’s ‘a giant alligator that’s very hungry and one man is blown in two by a cannon’.
‘Yes, it’s all a bit trashy, but in the best and most explosive way possible.’
For The Wrap, William Bibbiani was slightly more measured with his praise, writing: ‘The Bluff isn’t a bad pirate movie. If anything, it has so little competition these days that it’s probably ‘the best pirate movie in years’ by default.
‘But that’s damning the film with faint praise or possibly praising it with faint damnation.’
The Bluff has managed land a fresh score of 65% so far on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication, but it boasts a collection of five-star reactions from fans already.
Do you like the sound of The Bluff?
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Yarr!
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No, it doesn't shiver me timbers
It was celebrated as ‘a new twist on the home invasion genre’ by Jeremy W, while Laura P was delighted that ‘finally Hollywood is giving Priyanka the spotlight she deserves’ in an ‘incredible film’ that’s ‘1,000,000% a must-watch’.
This was echoed by @OrinaVanessa on X, who posted: ‘I couldn’t wait until morning, I just finished watching #thebluff movie – ooh @priyankachopra, you killed it: 10/10.’
Bollywood-turned-Hollywood star Chopra Jonas also had no problem channelling the fierce protectiveness of Mary either, as mum to four-year-old daughter Malti Marie, who was two when she received the script.
She told Time Out: ‘I would rip someone in half to protect my family. I know I would find that rage within me to be able to do that. And that was my North Star in this movie.’
She also added ‘Mai keher macha dungi’, which means ‘I will wreak havoc’ in Hindi.
The Matrix Resurrections actress, 43, has been married to singer husband Nick Jonas, 33, since 2018.
The Bluff is streaming exclusively on Prime Video now.
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