The Bluff review: All talk, no substance

Directed and co-written by Frank E. Flowers, Prime Video's The Bluff is a painful watch that lacks direction, a concept and a solid story.

The Bluff review: Under their own production company AGBO, the Russo Brothers bring us yet another offering, this time with Priyanka Chopra Jonas as the story, dialogue, antagonist and protagonist - atleast that's what you concur from this 1 hour 41 minute snoozefest. The Bluff feels like a spin-off of a successful film and one that definitely could've been a 15 minute micro drama at the max given all that it had to say.

This action-adventure pirate thriller and historical drama is relatively easy to follow - Chopra Jonas plays Ercell Borden aka Bloody Mary, ex-pirate and current fish wife, who lives an idyllic life on a remote island which is blown to pieces by the return of her former captain and probable ex-lover, the ruthless Captain Connor (Karl Urban) who is hunting for the gold stolen from him, but really, he's hunting for the one who got away! Yes, you got it right - our very own Bloody Mary. Is this story about how he got his men killed for ego? Or did he sacrifice them for the bounty on Mary's head? That's up for debate!

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Everyone and everything is a prop in this Pirates of the Caribbean knockoff. Ercell's current family, the idyllic island, Ercell's ex-pirate self, Mary, included. PCJ was bound to shine through and through in this one; there's no scope for anything to outshine her, not even the plot or the script! Basing the story on one island and the entire run-time being spent on capturing Mary while she wipes off Connor's entire crew single handedly doesn't work for this 19th-century Caribbean story. Oh sorry! How could I forget Elizabeth(Safia Oakley-Green), Ercell's sister-in-law and Ercell's son Isaac, (Vedanten Naidoo), both of whom, with no former training or skill, help her take down ruthless, experienced and downright terrifying pirates! 

Having previously watched PCJ in Citadel, also a Russo Brothers project, as well as Quantico and Heads of State, it feels like she has absolutely nothing new to offer right now; every single role of hers looks the same which is such a shame given how talented she is. Chopra Jonas has reached a point in her career where her own glamour outshines the simplicity some of her characters are written with and it's hard to decide who to blame for that.

The Bluff is currently streaming on Prime Video.

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