Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Prime Video’s The Bluff is the kind of film you either will defend, or die trying, or gleefully soak in gasoline before grabbing your favorite lighter and lighting it up, Keyser Söze. A Cutthroat Island, if there is such a thing, for a new generation: the Hudson Hawk of swashbuckling action-adventure that almost survives on the gorgeous, talented leads.
Take that for what you will because you will either turn off your phone or TV, be highly entertained, or start a chronic jaw injury from too much uncontrollable yawning. For me, The Bluff falls into the latter.
What is Prime Video’s The Bluff about?
Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Temuera Morrison and Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Temuera Morrison and Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
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Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Temuera Morrison and Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Temuera Morrison and Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
The story follows Ercell Bodden (Pryanka Chopra), a former pirate who put that life behind her. Now she is trying to live a quiet life on Cayman Brac, an emancipated community that is a slice of post-Buccaneer heaven. She lives with her sister, Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green), who almost starts a fire in the beachside shack while cuddling with her boyfriend.
The problem is she was supposed to be watching her nephew, Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo), a child living with a disability, who has limited mobility. A single mom, her husband, T.H. (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Ismael Cruz Cordova), who has been off at sea for almost two months. However, her past is about to catch up with her.
Cue Captain Conner (Karl Urban, born to play a pirate), a weathered and grey-haired cutlass-wielder looking for treasure. He and his men have been chasing Ms. Bodden for some time, believing a rumor that she has buried gold and other treasures at her new home. Soon, Conner will realize that Ercell is no ordinary housewife and is more tenacious than any opponent he has ever faced before.
Prime Video’s The Bluff 10 Review
Priyanka Chopra in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
The Bluff is from producers Joe and Anthony Russo, who cast Chopra in a similar big, bloated mess, Citadel. Directed by Frank E. Flowers (Haven), who co-wrote the script with scribe Joe Ballarini, a writer who specializes in the parental-guidance type of movie, whose previous work includes My Little Pony: The Movie and A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting.
The action, style, and costumes are ambitious, but all are ultimately pointless exercises in streaming entertainment. The film has very little complexity and very little purpose. And no matter how much Priyanka Chopra proves herself as an action star, she cannot cover up a script that lacks inspiration, other than being the ugly stepchild of the Pirates of the Caribbean films.
The script is missing comic relief, and it takes itself way too seriously. Which is puzzling, since you have Urban, so good with his brooding, ominous quips in The Boys, who should elevate the film. Instead, the film is overwrought, with moments so forgettable that the action picture struggles to hold your interest.
Is Prime Video’s The Bluff worth watching?
Priyanka Chopra and Karl Urban in The Bluff (2026) | Image via Amazon MGM Studios
The one positive the audience can hang their hat on is Chopra, who continues to marvel as an action star in underwhelming projects. The Bollywood legend is jaw-dropping and effective in blood-soaked action sequences, though that leans a bit too heavily into grotesque special effects and CGI. Though some sequences are clever enough to be interesting within the film’s setting.
Ultimately, The Bluff will go down as a 90-minute exercise in recycled entertainment that cuts corners to meet streaming content requirements and a story that was half-heartedly put together because of the streaming content wars. As pirate movies go, this one should be fun; instead, you get an odd mix of dull dialogue and bloody violence, making for an innocuous experience.
You can stream The Bluff exclusively on Prime starting February 25th!
The Bluff Review: Gorgeous and Forgettable
Prime Video’s The Bluff is the kind of film you either will defend, or die trying, or gleefully soak in gasoline before grabbing your favorite lighter and lighting it up, Keyser Söze. A Cutthroat Island, if there is such a thing, for a new generation: the Hudson Hawk of swashbuckling action-adventure that almost survives on the gorgeous, talented leads. Unfortunately, the final product is so recycled that the experience becomes innocuous.