It's not exactly Pirates of the Caribbean, although Blackbeard no doubt desperately hopes you might accidentally mistake it for the Disney blockbuster...in the dark...with your eyes closed. A made-for-cable miniseries, this overlong and underdone three-hour movie has its charms, but suffers from a minuscule budget and dramatic emasculation (it aired on the squeaky-clean Hallmark Channel this past June). Blackbeard (Angus Macfadyen) is a “ruthless leader,” a “violent raider,” and a “merciless killer,” the DVD jacket informs us breathlessly, but alas mateys, this purportedly true story of an 18th-century treasure hunter named Edward Teach is far too tame to offer much in the way of thrills, and much of the action—long pirate brawls that pad out the running time—occurs in muddy darkness. Intrigue appears in the form of a British naval officer (the vaguely Orlando Bloom-esque Mark Umbers) who goes undercover on Blackbeard's ship, leaving behind a spunky young lady (the very vaguely Keira Knightley-esque Jessica Chastain) who mopes for his return, when she isn't rather improbably working as a physician among poor island folk. Of course, the cheese factor is upped considerably by the presence of Richard Chamberlain chewing up scenery as a corrupt governor in league with Blackbeard. DVD extras include four brief featurettes with cast and crew interviews. Optional. (M. Johanson)
Blackbeard
Echo Bridge, 169 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 Volume 21, Issue 5
Blackbeard
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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