Published Feb 24, 2026, 7:38 PM EST
Fariba Rezwan is a Lead Editor for the Movie News team. She has been with ScreenRant for nearly five years, with roles ranging from list editor to junior news editor.
During that time, Fariba has led coverage for breaking movies and TV news, including Hunger Games, Marvel, and streaming. Additionally, she has actively provided commentary and reactions to the biggest movies and shows on her YouTube channel, The Movieception Show.
The Bluff is turning out to be Prime Video's greatest treasure yet.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas leads the upcoming swashbuckling thriller as a former pirate, Ercell Bodden, who is being hunted down by Captain Connor (Karl Urban). Once the Captain finds her, it becomes her duty to protect her family at all costs.
Ahead of its release on Prime Video, The Bluff currently has a 62% score on Rotten Tomatoes after 13 reviews were tabulated. While the rating will fluctuate, it's enough to be designated "Fresh." While the criticism is focused on the predictable and thin script that would have needed more character depth, the exhilarating action and Chopra Jonas' performance are the high points of the thriller. The consensus is that The Bluff is an engrossing revenge pirate movie filled with well-choreographed sword fighting and epic battles.
In ScreenRant’s review of The Bluff, Gregory Nussen lauded the new movie as “a rollicking throwback to the swashbuckling action of old” and described Chopra Jonas’ role as akin to John Wick in a swashbuckling setting. They described her performance as “vulnerable” and “deeply human,” which contrasts with “Urban's cooler, calmer, more sadistic Connor.”
The movie is brutal with well-choreographed, intense fights, and “As a reinvention of the Wick mythos, The Bluff is adventurous and surprising, with just enough innovation to find its own treasure,” ultimately earning a 7 out of 10 stars.
The Bluff has been greatly compared to The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise due to the swashbuckling elements like buccaneers, the exotic setting, and sword fighting. However, Prime Video's version is darker and more violent, as indicated by the brutality in the movie's trailers and the R-rating. In contrast, the Disney franchise is more campy and has stuck to a PG-13 rating.
Despite the comparison, The Bluff's Rotten Tomatoes score exceeds the reception of most Pirates of the Caribbean movies. The scores diminished with each installment as they fell below 60%, while 2003's The Curse of the Black Pearl is the franchise's only fresh movie with a solid 79%. Although there have been conversations of a sixth Pirates of the Caribbean movie, the franchise has yet to see much development in nearly a decade, with rumors of Margot Robbie taking over while Johnny Depp's return as Jack Sparrow is becoming uncertain.
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) |
79% |
86% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) |
53% |
72% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) |
43% |
72% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) |
32% |
54% |
|
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017) |
30% |
60% |
|
The Bluff (2026) |
62% |
N/A |
In the meantime, Prime Video has presented what could be the perfect pirate-adventure replacement, especially for viewers craving a darker depiction. It's unclear if the streamer plans on doing sequels, but that would ultimately depend on its streaming success and whether audiences desire more.
The Bluff also features Ismael Cruz Córdova, Safia Oakley-Green, and Temuera Morrison. Frank E. Flowers is the director, while also co-writing the story with Joe Ballarini. Chopra Jonas reunites with the Russo Bros as producers after previously collaborating on the Prime Video series, Citadel.
The Bluff will be available on Prime Video on February 25, 2026.
Release Date February 25, 2026
Runtime 101 Minutes
Director Frank E. Flowers
Cast
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Ercell 'Bloody Mary' Bodden
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Ismael Cruz Cordova
T.H. Bodden
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Safia Oakley-Green
Elizabeth Bodden
English (US) ·