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Blackbeard (TV) More at IMDbPro »

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21 out of 34 people found the following review useful:

Should have been called The Hunt for Kidd's Treasure

Author: knight1192a from United States
17 June 2006

I don't claim to be an expert on Blackbeard, in fact like many of us I really have just a basic understanding of who he was. Not a passing understanding mind you, that would be basically be knowing that he was a pirate and maybe knowing his real name was Edward Teach. A basic understanding would mean knowing the name of the ship he's associated with the most (Queen Anne's Revenge, which was a French ship he captured and renamed), he's associated with the then English colony of North Carolina among other places, that the governor of the colony of Virginia sent Maynard after him because the governor of NC was to friendly with him. Things of that nature.

Now knowing these things, when I saw ads for this movie I was eagerly anticipating this movie. I knew it wasn't going to stick strictly to the facts, what historical movie does? But I expected them to be much more of a guideline than what was presented. Yet for the most part the facts were thrown out the window to present us with a movie that should have been called "The Hunt for Kidd's Treasure." Because that's really what this movie was about, finding Captain Kidd's treasure.

In that they could have used practically any pirate to be alive at any point after Kidd's death. Not only that, they could have created a pirate or said forget the pirates and just use anyone wishing to find the treasure. For that matter they could have set it at just about any time after his death, even today. But by using Blackbeard they ensured there would be a built in audience.

As a movie by itself, if one heavily ignores the director and screenwriter playing fast and loose with history, it's mildly entertaining. The intrigue coming in two ways, firstly Blackbeard and Maynard's interaction in searching for the treasure together, secondly the corrupt governor of an apparent colony in the Caribbean as he looks to hide his truth from his adopted daughter and his citizens. Maynard apparently is sent to deal with Blackbeard by someone else entirely and essentially ends up shanghaied into the pirate's crew, where he hides his real nature, and rather successfully until the time comes for him to save some folks. Meanwhile, the governor and his essentially second in command have been working with pirates for a while now and are willing to team up with Blackbeard so as to get their share of his prizes. Unfortunately for them his adopted daughter falls for Maynard and becomes suspicious of what they are up too.

10 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

Remake of Captain Blood 1935

Author: mjbessette from United States
10 May 2009

I didn't realize until caught "Captain Blood" on TCM last night and found myself listening to the same exact lines. I thought to myself..I swear I saw this moving before in color;then I realized when I researched on IMDb that it was Black Beard I watched. I was disappointed that IMDb didn't point out it was a remake of Captain Blood. The writer's for Black Beard didn't go far for lines they literally took lines from the classic original "Captain Blood". Watch Captain Blood. What is wrong with this world. No imagination at all. Every movie you watch these days is a remake of an original. Sometimes that remake it over and over again. We really need to start giving credit where credit is due. Especially when these movies are being nominated for awards and the writers are copying them.

12 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Angus is a right true pirate, in spite of the too-clean bodice-ripper settings

Author: mooncaine-1
17 June 2006

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Pity the writers didn't crack a book; they mighta realized pirates don't hurl bombs, nor fire broadsides, at ships they wanted to take. You can't take cargo off a prize if she's sunk or burnt to the waterline.

Another historical gaffe: when Maynard arrives at New Providence, he looks askance at a hanging gibbet with a corpse. I don't think a British naval officer would have given such a thing a moment's attention, but rather would have noticed any lack of 'em, for it was the hanging corpses and piked heads about a town's gate that served as reassurance -- here, there is law and order. So Maynard's glance, if any, would have been an approving one.

I really like Blackbeard's accent in this. He even looks right (but way, way too clean).

14 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

Very poor production values

Author: moviemagicbudgeting from Glasgow
8 September 2006

I sat down to watch this show in the hope of some good entertainment. I was very disappointed. The design elements of the show are paper thin. The costumes are all pristine, the boats look like they are just out of the boatyard and these must me the cleanest pirates I have ever seen. Very poor. I was hoping for something from the direction but unfortunately this has been shot like an episode of Dallas. I dread to think how much money was wasted on this when there are fantastic scripts waiting to be made for a fraction of the cost. An obvious attempt to hang onto the coat tails of Pirates of the Caribean and pick up the scraps but it even fails in this attempt.

11 out of 17 people found the following review useful:

Film does not focus on the life of Blackbeard

Author: dtcws73 from United States
30 August 2006

Based on the descriptions appearing on the front and back cover of the movie case, one would expect this movie to chronicle the life and times of Blackbeard. Instead the movie focuses more on a fictional love story than the historical figure for which it is titled.

Blackbeard's more notable conquests and actions are not even eluded to. One would think given 169 minutes they might have squeezed in a little something more. His reputation with no specifics is only referenced.

This film unfortunately is primarily focused on a fictional love story. There are far more elements of fiction than fact in this film.

In short, much like judging a book by it's cover, do not buy/view this movie based on it's box.

17 out of 29 people found the following review useful:

Avoid

Author: mjdwill from bristol United Kingdom
3 September 2006

Living in Bristol where Blackbeard lived and drank in a pub that still stands today, I thought I would give this a try. I was left disappointed, at what potentially could of been very good. The acting is poor to say the least, and the story line was never something that had you gripped from the start. The story trickled along at a pace that never threatened to speed up, which left me Un-exited throughout.

Although I don't know too many of the historical facts about Blackbeard, I was always led to believe Blackbeard to be the most feared pirate in his day. I never got that impression during the film,which again left me disappointed. If you're going to make a film about Blackbeard, at least give him an edge, make us dislike him. Although I can't say i'm an expert on dental hygiene from the 1700's, I was amazed at how many pirates had white teeth, just something else that didn't make it feel like a true pirate film.

9 out of 14 people found the following review useful:

Very entertaining even if not totally accurate

Author: fallingstar76 from United States
20 August 2007

This movie is LOOSELY based on the actual history of Blackbeard. Some of the events that happen in the movie are taken right from history, even if they are set in a different location. Either way, it's very entertaining. The main plot as well as the sub-plots offer excitement and intrigue, as well as romance. The fight scenes are well done and the whole story in general seemed plausible enough to me. My husband usually doesn't like historical movies but he said this one kept him on the edge of his seat. The one complaint I had is that some of the scenes are shot in dark locations and it makes it very hard to see on screen. I understand that they were trying to keep it as real as possible, but it does no good when you can't even tell what's going on.

8 out of 13 people found the following review useful:

Tripe

Author: wespain from United States
24 July 2006

Unbelievable. A comic book version of Blackbeard's story. Don't waste your money renting this insipid, historically-inaccurate tripe. The setting, which should have been North Carolina and Virginia, is some mythical Caribbean colony. The actors are wasted on a script filled with stock heroes and villains. Nothing is even faintly true to the facts, except for the historic character names. The whole thing reminded me me of a Classic's Illustrated version of a greater work. The only audience this will appeal to is the kiddies, since it's done on their level anyway. Production values are generally good, but some of the night scenes are murky. Unfortunately, good tech credits can't even begin to redeem this cynical joke. If you are looking for an adult viewing experience I'd advise you to look elsewhere.

10 out of 17 people found the following review useful:

Pathetic at Best this is a waste of film, let alone time.

Author: IceBerg2076 from United States
29 July 2007

I picked this film up based on the Cover, A Mini-Series for cheap. I got less than what I paid for. The Complete lack of Continuity, or any other production value for that matter, is Appalling. Had I been hired for this cast, I'd have left based on the poor writing alone.

I'll not confuse Larry for Barry Levinson again.

I feel sorry for Poor Stacy Keach having to have his name attached to this Crap. This Film is worse than most High School Plays, let alone your local Community Theater.

I hope Angus Macfadyen got paid well enough for His outstanding Performance. As BlackBeard he alone captures the Attention that his role demands, despite the sad performance of the Writer. HIs performance alone kept me from tearing the disc out and launching it through an open window.

11 out of 19 people found the following review useful:

Good period piece but a little slow paced.

Author: joe-whalen from Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
20 June 2006

The movie is set in the early part of the 18th century. However, when they site a French ship early in the story, it is flying the blue, white, and red flag of modern France which did not come into existence until the French Revolution some 75 years later.

It would also help if there was more character development. For example, other than duty, it is not clear what is motivating the hero to undertake the mission which serves as the basis upon which the story is built.

The settings, which I understand were built in Thailand, are also well constructed and believable as being in the Bahama Islands almost 300 years ago and provide good backgrounds for the scenes.

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