The Bluff is for those of us who miss the golden age of pirate movies. And no I’m not talking about the movies that came out between the 1930s to the 1950s. I’m talking about The Pirates of the Caribbean. Those movies made me fall in love with adventure epics and voyages out into the unknown seas. They had swashbuckling fights, iconic outfits and styling, and beautiful new lands. And we can’t forget the romance between Will and Elizabeth. (Their theme song haunts me to this day.)
Ever since The Pirates of the Caribbean there hasn’t been a pirate movie that’s captured that feeling of adventure, exploration, romance, and that desperate fight to navigate the world with those you choose by your side. Then walks in Prime Video’s The Bluff starring Priyanka Chopra, Karl Urban, Safia Oakley-Green, Vedanten Naidoo, and Ismael Cruz Cordova. And it ticked off all my boxes while dipping into the brutality of the world of piracy and the lengths women had to go to survive.
Chopra plays Ercell, the feared pirate who has laid down her weapons for a quieter life. She has her family, her home, and her peace. And if there’s one thing that she desires above all, it’s to live out the rest of her life based on her choices. For some, this might seem a little bit like “women should stay at home and raise the children” propaganda. Why give up life out on the sea for domestics? Why give your freedom and ability to travel the world for a husband, son, and sister-in-law? Because it’s her choice.
When we look back at something like The Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth lived in the lap of luxury. Ercell is the opposite. She didn’t become a pirate because of a need for riches, the call of the sea, or a thirst for violence or power. She became a pirate because her hand was forced. And when given a choice between death or piracy, she chose survival in a world with limited options for a young woman like her. So that simple life she has on this island, it’s her freedom. Her choice. And when Urban’s villainous Captain Connor comes sniffing around, Ercell makes another choice.
This is her home. Not Captain Connor’s. And if he’s going to come after her, the family she’s built, and the home that has welcomed her, she’s not going to go down without a fight.
When it comes to the swashbuckling of it all in The Bluff, Chopra exemplifies giving yourself over to the craft. According to Chopra herself, she did about 85% of her own stunts. And I know that the main image of this review matches the intensity of Urban’s Connor, but Ercell is the kind of killer who understands that the best way to take down your enemy is by taking things slow. Ercell waits her prey out, gets the information she needs, and strikes when necessary. She’s graceful, precise, and devastatingly brutal.
Keeping it in theme with The Pirates of the Caribbean, we need to talk about the romance between Ercell and Cordova’s T.H. Bodden. Because if The Bluff is about choice, oh she chooses him at every turn. And so does he, leading to some tender moments between them that are grounded in the mutual respect their characters have for each other but also the undeniable chemistry between Chopra and Cordova.
There are parts of The Bluff that are hard to swallow and speak of the brutality of the world of piracy. Or honestly just the world in general. Because this movie isn’t a fantasy in the same way The Pirates of the Caribbean was. The Bluff is ruthless, bloody, and heartbreaking. But it does add to the overall strength of the movie, which is the freedom to make your own choices and Ercell’s battle to define her life based on her own actions and wants, not Connor’s.
If there’s anything you should take away from The Bluff, it’s that we need more pirate movies. Or shows. And if those pirate movies or shows just so happen to have a badass like Priyanka Chopra at the helm who honors where she came from and fights for what she wants, then sign me up!
The Bluff premieres February 25th on Prime Video.
