The Bluff

Sometimes surprises pop up. I hadn't read anything about The Bluff beforehand, but stumbled across it by accident while scrolling through film news online as usual. The day before it was released on Prime. We are truly spoiled in the streaming era. For better or worse. It's stressful trying to keep up with everything that's released, and I can miss the good old days. You know. When one episode was released per week. A season of The X-Files ended with "To be continued..." and an eternity of waiting. Or when films actually ran in cinemas for more than two months and it could sometimes be almost a year between the cinema premiere and the VHS release (VHS! You know. The predecessor to DVD. The predecessor to Blu-ray. The predecessor to digitisation. Jeez.)

Enough about that. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by The Bluff. I haven't been on a pirate adventure in a very long time, and it wasn't until the film started that I realised how much I've actually missed hanging out in the Caribbean with muskets, bearded, grunting old men and rolling seas. And the cast. We have Priyanka Chopra Jones (Heads of State) in the lead role as Ercell, the fisherman's wife with a past she hoped to keep buried in the sand. Karl Urban (The Boys, etc., he hardly needs any introduction) as Connor, the bearded, vengeful captain who steps ashore on Cayman Brac in search of gold and violence. Temuera Morrison (Boba Fett himself) as Connor's right-hand man.

This adventure begins very promisingly. It is stylish, edgy and the acting is solid. We are not treated to many quiet moments and the blood starts splattering immediately. The Bluff is a violent film. Very violent. And I find that entertaining. At times, it feels like they are trying a little too hard. Perhaps to mask certain other flaws. But sure. The tension is constant, and Ercell's transformation from an innocent fisherman's wife with a quiet life to the lioness within with a very large capacity for violence is entertaining, but very simplistic. And that's in line with the whole film. The running time is just over 100 minutes, which I think is a shame.

It would have been beneficial to develop a more detailed plot. More character development. More twists and turns. It feels like a rush job and ends before it really gets going. At times, it feels like an extended pilot for a new television series. And that feels like a loss. Because there is so much here that actually works. That is enjoyable. But I wish I had a reason to like it more than I ultimately allow myself to. Because behind the pace, the dialogue shifts, the secrets and all the creative, bloody deaths, the treasure chest echoes rather emptily.

But sure. As entertainment for the moment, in an age when we are spoiled with lavish streaming films, it still works just fine. Pop some popcorn, pour a glass of Caribbean rum (or cola!) and join in. It won't be boring...