The Bluff

Watch in the UK

Watch in the US

Data provided by

8 / 10

1 Review

Rate this movie:

8 Based on 1 Votes

10

0
9

0
8

1
7

0
6

0
5

0
4

0
3

0
2

0
1

0

Overview

When her tranquil life on a remote island is shattered by the return of her vengeful former captain, a skilled ex-pirate must confront her bloody past and unleash her deadly talents to save her family from a ruthless siege.

Media

The Bluff - Official Teaser | Prime Video

Cast

Temuera Morrison

Ismael Cruz Cordova

Director:

Frank E. Flowers

Writer:

Frank E. Flowers, Joe Ballarini

Release Date:

2026-02-17

Run Time:

103m

Tagline:

Betrayal cuts deep.

Genres:

Action Drama Thriller

Keywords:

19th century caribbean caribbean sea female pirate old grudge pirate quartermaster running from the past second in command sister-in-law

Financials and Popularity

Budget: Not Declared

Revenue: Not Declared

Vote Average: 6.5/10

Vote Count: 99 Votes

Movie Popularity: 7.5293

Spoken Languages: English

Review

View all reviews

Insomniacs Reviews
- 28 April 2026 at 9:58 pm

8 Based on 1 Votes
10

0
9

0
8

1
7

0
6

0
5

0
4

0
3

0
2

0
1

0
⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 8/10 THE SUMMARY Ercell Bodden lives a peaceful, undercover life on the island of Cayman Brac in the 1840s, raising her son and hiding a secret that would get her hanged. Years ago, she was "Bloody Mary," a notorious pirate who served under the ruthless Captain Connor (Karl Urban) before betraying him and vanishing with a fortune in gold. Her quiet existence is shattered when Connor finally tracks her down, invading the island with a fleet of bloodthirsty buccaneers. To protect her family and the islanders, Ercell has to dig up her buried past and turn the lush Caribbean landscape into a visceral trap-filled battlefield. It’s a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse where the legendary pirate queen must decide how much blood she’s willing to spill to keep her new life. THE PROS Priyanka Chopra Jonas is an absolute winner here, ditching the Hollywood glamour for a sincere, gritty performance that is easily her best action work to date. She plays Ercell with a punchy intensity, making the transition from "quiet mother" to "deadly pirate" feel authentic and terrifying. Karl Urban is quality as the villainous Connor, bringing that steely-eyed menace he’s known for and serving as a proper foil to Priyanka. It’s an 8/10 because the action is epic status—Frank E. Flowers directs the combat with a "John Wick at sea" energy, using creative environments like mangroves and alligator-infested rivers for some truly inventive kills. The cinematography by Greg Baldi is pure quality, capturing the contrast between the azure Caribbean waters and the deep crimson of the battle. THE CONS It earns an 8/10 because the middle act can feel slightly sluggish during the extended cat-and-mouse chase through the brush, which drags out the tension a bit longer than necessary. While the "former mentor/lover" dynamic between Ercell and Connor is punchy, some of the dialogue feels a bit like a damp squib, leaning on standard pirate tropes we’ve seen before. It misses a 9/10 mark because the ending, while explosive, feels a touch predictable for a revenge thriller. Temuera Morrison is quality, but his character doesn't get quite enough screen time to really establish himself as a major threat before the final showdown. THE VERDICT An 8/10. A good movie and highly recommended—it’s the pirate epic we’ve been waiting for that doesn't involve cursed Aztec gold or talking parrots. A winner for its brutal, "fight dirty" choreography and Priyanka’s powerhouse performance. Go and watch it for the "Bloody Mary" reveal—it’s quality cinema that proves the swashbuckler genre still has plenty of life in it. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA • Real Pirate Lore: To keep the "Bloody Mary" persona sincere, Priyanka Chopra Jonas studied real-life female pirates like Grace O’Malley and Zheng Yi Sao. She insisted on doing much of her own stunt work to ensure the "gritty, unpolished" fighting style looked as punchy as possible.• Practical Locations: The film was shot on location to capture the authentic vibe of the Caribbean. The "Skull Cave" seen in the movie isn't a studio set; it’s a real geographical feature on Cayman Brac that the crew had to haul equipment into, making the production a proper logistical challenge.• Russo Connection: The film is produced by the Russo Brothers (the minds behind 'Avengers: Endgame'). They reportedly pitched the movie as "historical John Wick," which convinced the studio to lean into the R-rated brutality rather than a more family-friendly pirate vibe. THE VIBE Like salt spray and gunpowder in a humid jungle. It smells like old gold, sea salt, and iron.

Videos

The Bluff - Official Teaser | Prime Video

Cast

Temuera Morrison

Ismael Cruz Cordova

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Safia Oakley-Green

Vedanten Naidoo

Related Movies To

The Bluff

Verity

Struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh relocates to the remote Crawford estate to ghostwrite for Verity Crawford. After Lowen uncovers what appears to be Verity's chilling autobiographical notes, she wrestles with the disturbing and twisted confessions about Verity’s husband Jeremy, and finds it hard to separate fiction from reality, manipulation from attraction, and opportunity from obsession.

Run time: 0m Tagline: There is no light where we're going. Release: 2026-09-30

Director: Michael Showalter

Stars: Alex Cooper Anne Hathaway Brady Wagner Dakota Johnson Irina Dvorovenko Ismael Cruz Cordova Josh Hartnett K.K. Moggie Michael Abbott Jr.

La Haine

9 / 10

1 Review

After a chaotic night of rioting in a marginal suburb of Paris, three young friends, Vinz, Hubert and Saïd, wander around unoccupied waiting for news about the state of health of a mutual friend who has been seriously injured when confronting the police.

Run time: 98m Tagline: How far you fall doesn't matter, it's how you land… Release: 1995-05-31

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

Stars: Abdel Ahmed Ghili Héloïse Rauth Hubert Koundé Joseph Momo Laurent Labasse Olga Abrego Rywka Wajsbrot Saïd Taghmaoui Solo Vincent Cassel

Children of Men

10 / 10

1 Review

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

Run time: 109m Tagline: The year 2027: the last days of the human race. No child has been born for 18 years. He must protect our only hope. Release: 2006-09-22

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Stars: Charlie Hunnam Chiwetel Ejiofor Clare-Hope Ashitey Clive Owen Danny Huston Julianne Moore Michael Caine Oana Pellea Pam Ferris Peter Mullan

Oldboy

10 / 10

1 Review

With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate man seeks revenge on his captors.

Run time: 120m Tagline: 15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance. Release: 2003-11-21

Director: Park Chan-wook

Stars: Choi Min-sik Ji Dae-han Kang Hye-jung Kim Byeong-ok Lee Seung-shin Oh Dal-su Oh Tae-kyung Yoo Ji-tae Yoo Yeon-seok Yoon Jin-seo

Remarkably Bright Creatures

A lonely elderly widow named Tova forms an unlikely friendship with a curmudgeonly cephalopod octopus named Marcellus, but unbeknownst to her, Marcellus is on a mission to solve a mystery that will heal the widow’s heart and lead her to a life-changing discovery.

Run time: 0m Release: 2026-05-08

Director: Olivia Newman

Stars: Alfred Molina Beth Grant Colm Meaney Donald Sales Joan Chen Kathy Baker Laura Harris Lewis Pullman Sally Field Sofia Black-D'Elia

Collections

The Bluff

This movie is not part of any collection.

Reviews for

The Bluff

Comment (1)

Insomniacs Reviews
- 28 April 2026 at 10:58 PM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 8/10
THE SUMMARY
Ercell Bodden lives a peaceful, undercover life on the island of Cayman Brac in the 1840s, raising her son and hiding a secret that would get her hanged. Years ago, she was “Bloody Mary,” a notorious pirate who served under the ruthless Captain Connor (Karl Urban) before betraying him and vanishing with a fortune in gold. Her quiet existence is shattered when Connor finally tracks her down, invading the island with a fleet of bloodthirsty buccaneers. To protect her family and the islanders, Ercell has to dig up her buried past and turn the lush Caribbean landscape into a visceral trap-filled battlefield. It’s a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse where the legendary pirate queen must decide how much blood she’s willing to spill to keep her new life.
THE PROS
Priyanka Chopra Jonas is an absolute winner here, ditching the Hollywood glamour for a sincere, gritty performance that is easily her best action work to date. She plays Ercell with a punchy intensity, making the transition from “quiet mother” to “deadly pirate” feel authentic and terrifying. Karl Urban is quality as the villainous Connor, bringing that steely-eyed menace he’s known for and serving as a proper foil to Priyanka. It’s an 8/10 because the action is epic status—Frank E. Flowers directs the combat with a “John Wick at sea” energy, using creative environments like mangroves and alligator-infested rivers for some truly inventive kills. The cinematography by Greg Baldi is pure quality, capturing the contrast between the azure Caribbean waters and the deep crimson of the battle.
THE CONS
It earns an 8/10 because the middle act can feel slightly sluggish during the extended cat-and-mouse chase through the brush, which drags out the tension a bit longer than necessary. While the “former mentor/lover” dynamic between Ercell and Connor is punchy, some of the dialogue feels a bit like a damp squib, leaning on standard pirate tropes we’ve seen before. It misses a 9/10 mark because the ending, while explosive, feels a touch predictable for a revenge thriller. Temuera Morrison is quality, but his character doesn’t get quite enough screen time to really establish himself as a major threat before the final showdown.
THE VERDICT
An 8/10. A good movie and highly recommended—it’s the pirate epic we’ve been waiting for that doesn’t involve cursed Aztec gold or talking parrots. A winner for its brutal, “fight dirty” choreography and Priyanka’s powerhouse performance. Go and watch it for the “Bloody Mary” reveal—it’s quality cinema that proves the swashbuckler genre still has plenty of life in it.
INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
• Real Pirate Lore: To keep the “Bloody Mary” persona sincere, Priyanka Chopra Jonas studied real-life female pirates like Grace O’Malley and Zheng Yi Sao. She insisted on doing much of her own stunt work to ensure the “gritty, unpolished” fighting style looked as punchy as possible.
• Practical Locations: The film was shot on location to capture the authentic vibe of the Caribbean. The “Skull Cave” seen in the movie isn’t a studio set; it’s a real geographical feature on Cayman Brac that the crew had to haul equipment into, making the production a proper logistical challenge.
• Russo Connection: The film is produced by the Russo Brothers (the minds behind ‘Avengers: Endgame’). They reportedly pitched the movie as “historical John Wick,” which convinced the studio to lean into the R-rated brutality rather than a more family-friendly pirate vibe.
THE VIBE
Like salt spray and gunpowder in a humid jungle. It smells like old gold, sea salt, and iron.

Leave a Review Cancel reply