The Bluff Review — Think John Wick But With Cliffs, Cannons, and Carnage
Amazon’s latest straight-to-streaming action spectacle, directed by Frank E. Flowers, is a blood-soaked swashbuckler that straps a flintlock pistol to the hip of the john Wick formula and sets it loose in the Caribbean. Led by a ferocious Priyanka Chopra Jonas and a gravel-voiced Karl Urban, The Bluff is equal parts revenge saga, survival thriller, and pirate opera. It may borrow liberally from its inspirations, but it swings its cutlass with enough confidence and style to carve out an identity of its own.
⚓ Story: A Mother, A Myth, A Mountain of Buried Violence
Set in 1846 on the emancipated shores of Cayman Brac, the story centers on Ercell — a seemingly quiet mother raising her son Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo) alongside her sister-in-law Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green). Her husband, T.H. (Ismael Cruz Córdova), has been missing at sea for 59 days — a detail counted obsessively by her pirate-story-obsessed child.
But tranquility is a lie.
When a fleet arrives led by Captain Connor (Urban), the film wastes no time detonating its domestic illusion. Connor believes Ercell is actually “Bloody Mary,” a former marauder who vanished with stolen gold. What follows is less a mystery than a reckoning — a relentless pursuit through jungle, caves, and cliffs as Ercell sheds her peaceful facade and reclaims the lethal instincts she buried.
Narratively, The Bluff operates on familiar rails: retired killer pulled back in, family endangered, buried treasure, escalating cat-and-mouse violence. It echoes everything from John Wick to Predator to Die Hard. Yet its post-colonial Caribbean setting adds texture to what might otherwise feel purely derivative. The revenge plot becomes a meditation — albeit subtle — on how colonial brutality mutates into generational bloodshed.
🔥 Performances: Grit, Gunpowder & Gravitas
priyanka chopra Jonas is the engine of the film. She balances vulnerability with coiled fury, making Ercell feel less like an archetype and more like a woman dragged back into a life she despises but masters. Her physicality is convincing — the swordplay, the gun-fu, the improvised traps — all delivered with muscular conviction.
Karl Urban leans into the archetype, but does it well. His Captain Connor is all tobacco grit and philosophical menace. He speaks in moody aphorisms and hunts with cold patience, serving as a steady, ominous counterweight to Ercell’s emotional volatility.
The supporting cast adds grounding warmth early on, which makes the film’s violent turn more effective. Vedanten Naidoo brings sweetness without tipping into sentimentality, and Safia Oakley-Green provides emotional stakes that justify Ercell’s escalating brutality.
🎥 Technical Craft: Where the Film Truly Sings
This is where The Bluff becomes something special.
The fight choreography from Marvel veterans tara Macken and Kyle Gardiner is tightly constructed and deliciously vicious. The action isn’t just constant — it’s inventive. Improvised explosives. Barrel shotguns. Jungle traps. Claustrophobic kitchen brawls. The violence is intimate, sweaty, and tactile.
Cinematographer Greg Baldi uses Cayman Brac’s natural caves and cliffs as a living maze. One standout sequence unfolds almost entirely in flashes of gunfire, each muzzle burst briefly illuminating combatants mid-strike. It’s chaotic but readable — a rare balance.
Director Frank E. Flowers clearly understands the terrain. The island doesn’t just function as a backdrop; it becomes a weapon, playground, and character. The “bluff” itself — a perch over hidden treasure and concealed tunnels — provides verticality that keeps the action dynamic.
The editing is lean. At roughly 90 minutes, the film wastes no time. There’s barely room to breathe — and that’s mostly intentional.
🏴☠️ Thematic Undercurrents: Colonial Echoes in a Bloodbath
Beneath the carnage lies a commentary on post-colonial violence. Ercell’s transformation from feared pirate to domestic survivor mirrors the broader attempt of colonized lands to rebuild. Connor, as a relic of conquest, represents unfinished imperial brutality.
The film doesn’t belabor these ideas, but they flicker beneath the surdata-face — especially as it questions whether violence can ever truly be buried, or whether it simply waits for provocation.
It’s not high theory. But it’s more thoughtful than the average streaming actioner.
✅ What Works
• Razor-sharp, inventive fight choreography
• Priyanka Chopra Jonas in full action-star mode
• Stunning use of Cayman Brac’s terrain
• Efficient pacing — no bloat, no filler
• One gorgeously shot gunfire-lit cave sequence
❌ What Doesn’t
• Derivative revenge structure
• Thin backstory for supporting characters
• Emotional beats sometimes rushed
• Villain motivations lean towards archetypal
🎯 Final Verdict
The Bluff doesn’t reinvent the action genre — it reloads it with flintlock swagger. Yes, it borrows its skeleton from the Wick playbook. Yes, the narrative beats feel familiar. But the execution is muscular, stylish, and refreshingly brutal. In an era of bloated two-hour streaming epics, this lean 90-minute Caribbean blood opera feels like a cannon blast — loud, kinetic, and gone before you can question its logic.
priyanka chopra Jonas proves she can carry a period action thriller on her shoulders — sword in one hand, shotgun in the other.