The Bluff review: Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ warrior spirit can't save this shallow, tedious pirate tale from sinking

The Bluff story:

The Bluff is set in the Caribbean in the 19th century and recounts the story of Ercell "Bloody Mary" Bodden (played by Priyanka Chopra Jonas), a former pirate who has left the sword behind and settled down with her family on the island of Cayman Brac. Her hard-won tranquillity is disrupted when her vicious ex-captain, Francisco Connor (played by Karl Urban), shows up on the island in search of retribution and a stolen treasure he claims she took. In a dramatic, "John Wick-style" struggle for survival, Ercell must reawaken her lethal abilities and face her terrible past to defend her loved ones from the pirates who have besieged her town and abducted her husband.

The Bluff review:

It's always a curious moment when you become engrossed in a movie, only to quickly lose interest. For me, it usually takes time to "check out," often until the interval point or even the climax, where the culmination fails miserably. However, The Bluff is a movie in which I found it difficult to invest myself within the first 10 minutes of watching. The film, directed by Frank E. Flowers, begins just like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies—on a ship, amid heavy rains and pirates—and then we see the face of the villain, Captain Connor (Karl Urban), getting into the mode of vengeance.

Then, we see Priyanka Chopra Jonas in broad daylight, almost saree-clad, standing on the edge of a cliff looking through her spyglass into the steady sea. She is introduced as a homemaker named Ercell Bodden, living with her son Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo) and her sister-in-law Elizabeth Bodden (Safia Oakley-Green) in a humble house. The beginning establishes the world she lives in—a village of peace and harmony. In no time, the past knocks on her door, and all hell breaks loose. What begins as two pirates entering her peaceful abode turns into an action sequence that is never-ending and lasts until sunrise. That is some serious stamina and determination Ercell has to protect her family, but the prolonged sequence keeps losing steam.

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As the fight sequence continues without pause, the result is what the film ultimately becomes: an all-out battle interspersed with brief moments that attempt to convey a story. We finally see Connor and Ercell coming face-to-face in what I thought would be the climax. However, this encounter felt climactic only because they were throwing grenades at each other, exchanging punches, and literally telling each other to "yield". But what is the reason for their fight, aside from pirates invading a peaceful village? That's hardly established, despite hints that Connor and Ercell know each other very well. We see the former repeatedly calling her "Bloody Mary", a title her people are seemingly unaware of.

Flowers wrote the film with Joe Ballarini, setting it on a single day where everything happens but nothing else moves. I was still pinning my hopes on the film having something meaty to offer apart from costume drama and out-and-out action. However, one should not have high expectations for that. The simple logline mentions that Ercell is a former pirate who left everything to become a better human being. When the ghosts of her past return, she unleashes herself to protect her near and dear ones, bringing back the aura she once had. But that's it; we hardly see what her past actually was or what led to her finally giving up the pirate life.

The film takes all the necessary elements of a 19th-century Caribbean setting, packs them in a chest, and throws them away by bringing nothing new to the table. Priyanka is the driving force of the film, which relies entirely on her to carry the story, even though it ultimately lacks depth. There's hardly any support system for her character; she is a lone wolf most of the time. In one sequence, she sets a trap for the pirates—very much like Home Alone—doing everything by herself while "talking shop" with her sister-in-law and son about her past, yet it remains surface-level. Meanwhile, the pirates conveniently wait outside as she completes the trap and hides her family.

Once again, there is a prolonged fighting sequence, followed by a third act which includes yet another confrontation; however, none of these events advance the story or offer clarification about why any of this is happening. The film relies heavily on our imagination to speculate about Ercell's backstory, but even if we envision a compelling narrative, the conclusion remains unsatisfying. So why even make the effort?

Priyanka does a pretty good job of keeping the film intriguing, but her efforts to be a saviour for both her family and the film ultimately diminish her character's impact. Even if the film is purely a showcase for her, the character needed to be more substantial rather than just defeating opponents twice her size with her intelligence. The script expected her only to perform stunts and shed a few tears. It all becomes so unreasonable that I’m left wondering, "Why was this even made into a film when the script seems to be only two lines long?"

This is my first time witnessing Karl Urban's work, and based on what I have seen of The Boys on social media, he closely resembles his character Billy Butcher; however, I am uncertain about this performance. Throughout the film, he primarily only says "Bloody Mary" and "yield" to Ercell.

I seriously wish The Bluff had more to offer than the scale it mounted. It could have brought back the swashbuckling genre and the "pirate game", but all we see is extreme gore, violence, and bloodshed, without an ounce of emotion from the characters or the story.

The Bluff verdict:

Without a meaningful backstory for Priyanka Chopra Jonas' character or a compelling motive for Karl Urban's Captain Connor, The Bluff feels like a hollow costume drama. Ultimately, it’s a missed opportunity to revive the swashbuckling genre, delivering plenty of bloodshed that prioritises gore over grounded storytelling.

The Bluff is set to stream on Prime Video on February 25, 2026.