Save your money for something good and enjoyable

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

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.

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.

You might need the help of a bottle of rum to make it through this overwrought, overly long, sanitized pirate saga.This film should have been and could have been exciting with some major tweaking. Bad casting was a large part of it's problem.For starters, I would have made Blackbeard the central male character of the film, and he would have had a romance with the heroine.I would have had Blackbeard played by a young, exciting actor - such as Naveen Andrews. Instead, Blackbeard, whose beard by the way, was rather odd looking, being so long and narrow, was played by Angus Macfadyen.Mr. Macfadyen is a middle-aged man who is fighting a middle-age spread and who looked as if he belonged in an recliner chair in front of a TV set far more than he belonged on a pirate ship.The male lead, Robert Maynard, was played by Mark Umbers. He was all right, but not handsome or exciting enough.And while I greatly admired the heroine, Charlotte's spunk (Jessica Chastain),she was no shrinking violet - the woman didn't hesitate to use a gun or a knife - she was so homely, she could have stopped a clock at midnight on a moonless night.There was scenery chewing aplenty, along with a lot of action on the high seas, and no doubt quite a bit of historical inaccuracy. Certainly more than a bit of unrealistic happenings.They go in search of Captain Kidd's treasure - find it - and then I'll be darned if they don't go in search of it again. That part was completely murky. Did Captain Kidd have more than one hidden treasure? Was the first one Captain Kidd's and the second one some other treasure? I don't know and I didn't even care enough to try to figure it out.4 stars out of 10.

I was so excited about the premiere of Blackbeard. I spent four years on the island where he was killed by Lt. Maynard. While on the island, I researched the life and livelihood of the pirates that frequented the area. Edward Teach, alias Blackbeard, stood out above the rest. A colorful character who could read and write-rare for men in that age-and had considerable social graces, he was quite a hit among the ladies. The movie was almost a complete fabrication, containing little truth and ignoring the fascinating facts about this former servant to the Queen of England's, escapades. For the record, the life of Edward Teach, one of many servants turned vigilante, was far more exciting than the way this hoax depicts him. There were the numerous battles over ships, the ships he won through those battles, the smoking hat when he boarded a ship and the fact that he was caught in a sandbar in the Pamplico Sound while trying to flee from Lt. Maynard. And what of Lt. Maynard? Maynard pursued Teach because of a $1000 bounty (in 1718) offered by the Governor of Virginia to anyone who would capture and/or kill Blackbeard. Maynard overwhelmed Teach's fleet with firepower, and personally defeated him on deck of one of Teach's ships, then paraded through the area with Blackbeard's head dangling from the bow of the ship. Maynard himself bought an island in the Caribbean, supposedly with the $1000 he won for having slain Blackbeard. Most of us know that even then, an island could not be purchased for $1000. I think the movie should have stuck to the facts. They are far more exciting than the movie itself. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction!