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The Bluff is a Caribbean action drama film available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, and stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas in the lead role. Aiming to revive the lost era of pirate cinema by way of gorgeous landscapes, opulent decoration and high-stakes power play between characters, The Bluff won’t surprise audiences as much as bring the pirate aesthetic back into the popular consciousness!
Yes, this is a gorgeously shot and well executed film that is currently making rounds all over the Internet’s heartstrings.
Lekin jab writing me dam kam ho, toh execution ka karlega bhaiya?
What’s the plot?
Ercell “Bloody Mary” Bodden had been one of the most notorious pirates on the seas. Along with her husband and their young son, she abandoned the ocean and moved to an island where she could live out the rest of her days in peace.
A year after being marooned on the island, the island is now thriving under the rule of Ercell (Emily Browning), who is attempting to build a better life for the remaining survivors. Connor (Karl Urban), who was once part of the group and was left in charge by Ercell after she was left to die, shows up with a new crew and demands that Ercell give him all of the stolen gold. He’s after revenge and wants to claim the gold that she and the survivors stole from him.
What the critics are saying?
Critics have generally treated the film with measured praise. They’re about at the mid-to-high 60% level on the review sites at the moment, roughly what one would expect for this kind of film. The physical and visual qualifications of the star and his evident presence on the screen are almost universally praised. So too are the movie’s sets and locations.
A handful of critics thought it too jargon-ish, too formulaic, and too CID-ish, too much that no space coule be felt for love arcs or other emotional undertones.
The writing is occasionally awkward. One or two registered the obvious fact that the film is primarily about the performances and not really about the events that play out on screen, but for the most part this proved to be a serviceable if not utterly unremarkable action movie in the Tarantino universe.
Things We DIGGED!
1. The Revival of Pirate Aesthetic
A tribute to the spirit of the pirate cinema, Treasure Island features intricate sets of ships, castles and landscapes, as well as plenty of rocky coastlines and ornate costumes. The locations in the Caribbean add to the aura of place and grandeur.
The feels are real, and so will be the desire for a cruise vacation post this.
It doesn’t try to become the next Titanic, because it knows it would fail just as miserably as any attempt post it did. It’s only slightly better than the Cut Throat Island debacle in terms of storytelling and visuals. Although the art department has done an impressive job with the visuals of this movie, which are very compelling and interesting.
Pirates of the Caribbean shows that there’s money to be made in the land of pirates. And it proves that piracy as a genre is still a valid, and visually and thematically pertinent medium.
Aye aye captain (directors), now sail this boat.
2. Priyanka Chopra Jonas Delivers a Multifaceted Character
Priyanka Chopra is in charge of her every frame, and man she nails it all! She makes Ercell a multi dimensional woman, who is fierce, conflicted, protective and burdened. She makes a nice balance of action and drama especially when it comes to the motherly side.
She legit becomes a “mama bear” and a “saari duniya jala denge” coded figure for her fam jam.
Her character is really messed up because of her past and she never really escapes it. You see through the script that her past really affects her decisions and it’s a really give and take thing where she’ll think she’s gotten over it and then she’ll bump into it again. That’s where the uncomfortable emotions really creep in and she becomes all the more relatable and personal!
She moves with an ease from scenes of extreme violence and battle to scenes of the most intimate and sensitive family moments without ever losing the audience.
3. Karl Urban Strengthens the Conflict
Someone stealing the frame from Priyanka, was on zero Indian viewer’s 2026 bingo card!
But still, when Karl does it, no one complains.
Karl Urban brings such gravity of presence to whatever he is in. He manages to blend menace and charm in a delicate balancing act of great precision; never over playing it and thus never overstaying his welcome. Balanced banda ftw!
He is in sync with the voice of the character as portrayed by Deepak Chopra and heightens the emotional content of the narrative. His performance makes one believe in the hero’s victory, because he manages to bring in the sense of the struggle for it. Uncertainty of the battle adds to the interest in the plot.
Things We Did Not DIG!
The screenplay for the movie has several obvious flaws. In a misguided attempt at creating dramatic tension, characters spend a lot of time yelling at each other. And not in the chaotic, messy and dilemmatic way that deepens tension, but rather in a snappy and nasty way that annoys the audience quicker than any other cliches.
There are far too many scenes with long-winded, overly-explained, and unbearably loud action sequences.
The plot of this movie is surprisingly unoriginal. You can often predict what was going to happen before it actually did, and that’s so NOT the perf recipe for a thriller film, is it?
An unoriginal plot may be necessary for a thriller to fit the mold that readers are used to, but it leaves no room for suspense.
We feel that the plot could have used a larger group of antagonists, or a more dangerous and deeply enraged figure. With a dark and deadly story? Maybe a Rehman Dakait typa aura. But we were left without satisfaction and how!
The main character’s growth also could have been more evident with more plot structures, because we were kinda left wanting more, even after the end.
As a movie in its own right, The Bluff is a perfectly fine, if rather mindless adventure to embark upon on your daily binge. As a potential launching pad for the rebirth of the swashbuckling action adventure genre, however, it’s hard to help but feel that it points to even greater sailing in the future.