User reviews

Opening with a healthy battle at sea makes a good start to any film about pirates, and 'Crossbones' plays it safe by delivering just that; ship cannons are fired, people get shot up close by muskets, throats get slit and heads get bashed in: welcome to the new NBC-show about one of the most famous – and notorious – pirates ever: Blackbeard.

Enter John Malkovich, the show's star, who delivers yet another great turn playing the outlaw legend. His portrayal of the character is rather original; instead of giving us a stereotypical, larger-than-life performance with a Keith Richards look, we get a coldly calculating older man, well spoken and with a nicely tamed - grey - beard.

Malkovich's portrayal might not even be so far off: according to Wikipedia, Blackbeard was not a tyrannical pirate and he commanded his vessels only with their crews' permission; apparently there is also no known account of him murdering prisoners and he preferred using his cleverly constructed fearsome image to induce terror over committing actual acts of violence.

But that is (probably) as far as historical accuracy will go in 'Crossbones', for this certainly isn't a history lesson (not that I complain), but solid entertainment with a historical background. So far, I'm satisfied with what I've seen. The cast – especially Richard Coyle, who plays the show's protagonist Tom Lowe – is very good, the plot evolves nicely and the set design looks real; fake looking CGI is – so far – mercifully absent. Judging from the first episode, my verdict is a solid (if not overly excited): "Yar!" – 7 stars out of 10.

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I like John Malkovich and he doesn't disappoint in this series...his first time doing television. The production quality is excellent and it is filmed on location. The storyline is interesting and intriguing. I will continue watching this series. It is on Hulu+ . I've read some negative reviews here and they mostly centered on the issue of historical accuracy and authenticity. This show is based on a historical figure but the storyline is fictional. As for authenticity, I am not an expert on pirates, nor do I watch or have I watched much in the pirate genre. Perhaps for me ignorance is bliss because this is not an issue for me. Or perhaps the other reviewers were nitpicking. This does not seem to be a huge issue to me at least. It seemed authentic enough for me. The production is high quality. If the story is unbelievable to some it is not to me. This show is highly entertaining and there are any twists and turns in the plot. John Malkovich's portrayal of Blackbeard leaves me hanging on his every word and action. Good show.

I just watched the first episode and I didn't feel the need to go on. I don't care to know what will happen to Mr Lowe, Mr Blackbeard or the other characters of this hasty paced mess.

John Malkovich looks lazy, he just sits and glorifies himself. Richard Coyle on the contrary is hyperactive, trying to overshadow his real rival, Doctor Stephen Maturin, from Patrick O'Brian's 'Master and Commander'. The only pearl is the beautiful Claire Foy, to whom the authors reserved an intriguing role and some very good lines.

The other characters are taken from comic books of the 1930s.

Did you know that Longitude could kill pirates? Socks could harm too.

I was very sceptical about watching this show, especially after seeing the less than great score on IMDb, however I must say I really enjoyed it. It made a nice change to have a show without the now customary gratuitous sex scenes which seem now to be added for ratings and not for the plot.

It is an interesting take on the Blackbeard story and I would have like to have seen a second series as I feel the characters had more to offer. i too watched Black Sails and enjoyed it, but I would say I enjoyed this slightly more.

Definateley worth a watch

It took few episodes to get interested in the show. A pirate/period drama seemed so out of place in contemporary culture (British series are exempt). Admittedly, I don't watch a lot of TV and have only recently heard of 'Black Sails'.

'Crossbones' grew on me with the very solid acting - 10 stars for most of the leading cast - the writing was intelligent, with high ideals shining brightly through all that history (accurate or not). Richard Coyle and Claire Foy were outstanding. John Malkovich's performance was uneven and that was unfortunate as everyone's eyes were on him. It was a complex role and he could have done a lot with it.

Mid-way through the series, I looked up the reviews. I was curious whether it was building a following. While I didn't think it would (a pirate/period drama built around complex characters set in a peripheral episode in history), coming across an open dislike was unexpected. It seemed that the series was doomed right from the start. It's a shame. I came to enjoy the characters and look forward to the next episode. It was interesting and entertaining, with minor flaws.

I watched "Crossbones" without any expectations, and only went to give the series a chance because Julian Sands was in it.

And now having stuck with the series for 9 episodes, I must admit that I have been adequately entertained so far, but the entire series is not outstanding. The storyline is interesting, but I had initially expected a bit more action and sea battles. The show is based more about pirates being people as well, putting swashbuckling and generic pirate themes in the background.

I will say that the production value to the series is great and that really helps the series along quite nicely. There is a lot of nice details in the costumes, the scenery (such as buildings and ships), and I thoroughly enjoyed that.

The acting in the series was great, and they had some nice talents put together for the various roles. While I was a bit unsure about John Malkovich as Blackbeard, then I must say that I was surprised, because he really carried the role nicely and brought a very unique quality to the show.

"Crossbones" has been entertaining so far and is well worth a watch.

I had hoped that with John Malkovich starring, Crossbones would hold my interest. Alas, not so. This script must have originated in the Ministry of Silly Pirates, without so much as a nod to any kind of historical accuracy.

The Blackbeard character is written for Malkovich to mug as Malkovich. His every move and utterance seems to be designed to persuade us that Blackbeard was some kind of evil philosopher king. (Say, what?) You can literally feel the actor not caring. Worse, the sound editors seem to have processed his voice so as to sound unnatural.

So much craziness, so many other shows.

The rest is dross. A bunch of political correct casting, confused relationships and full on Hollywood banality. You can almost hear the pitch meeting: Okay, Blackbeard's not really dead, okay?

Not okay.

i know maybe the cloths were to clean but the series was one of the best i have watched in a long time. John was excellent as Edward Teach. all the actors played there parts perfectly. Well Worth the watch. As pirates excellent, as towns people great, ship scenes were beautiful, Story line fresh and the use of the extended language was perfect, The island was good right plants for the area for a change. the idea of a British spy turning easiest thing in the world to be leave given the idea of freedom offered by the pirates even the idea that all pirates were equal as it was true and that they voted and followed by choice and not under rule of force but with a strong leader like black beard these men and women would follow to hell and back and all in all a TV series to be carried on and not to far in the future we can all hope. cheers folks you did your jobs to perfection

This show feels very low quality.

* Terrible music. It all sounds like it's electronically produced, and poorly at that. I'd put it on par with video game music from the late 90's.

* Absurd portrayals of women. The men wander around filthy, oily, with a week's stubble, while the women are all pristine, with lovely, shaped eyebrows and good foundation. They're simultaneously objectified and unrealistically powerful.

* Generally mediocre lighting, framing, etc. Everything looks like a small set.

* Simple dialog, spiced up with random, unusual words to make it sound vaguely old-timey. The exposition is laughably bad at times.

Thoroughly enjoyed this pirate saga that has many of the elements of "Pirates of the Caribbean": beautiful shots of exotic Caribbean locales, swordplay, and the kind of plot twists that come from a pair of mischievous Jack Sparrowish characters who both possess a near-endless capacity for on the fly.

In one ring, we have Blackbeard (John Malkovich), who in this alternate take on history, faked his death and is now living large as a semi-peaceful ruler of an off-the-grid pirate kingdom of his own making. His main foil is combination doctor/spy/ tactician/lover Tom Lowe (Richard Coyle) who is originally sent to expose/kill Blackbeard but ends up in an uneasy alliance with the semi-erratic despot. There's also a love triangle between Lowe, free-spirited quartermaster Kate Balfour (I could easily write another paragraph about how enchanting Claire Foy is here) and her handicapped husband (Peter Stebbings).

As for the "Pirates of the Caribbean" comparison (a compare/contrast angle is inevitable considering that is the only other pirate film I have seen), this isn't the movies but an NBC show that's relegated to the summer schedule (AKA low-key filler) so adjust your expectations accordingly. It is worth pointing out, however, that while Johnny Depp anchored the Pirates series with a meticulously crafted iconic comic character in Jack Sparrow Jon Malkovich's humor is unintentional: His interpretation of Blackbeard's accent is suspiciously Malkovich-like (worth mentioning other than the accent, Malkovich is fine here). But hey, written history can only tell us so much about the accents of 18th Century pirates. Maybe Blackbeard did sound like John Malkovich?

This is a decent show, overall, but the problem is the doctor isn't nearly as interesting as the pirate, and we spend way more time with the doctor. I think the problem with the show is it takes itself so seriously; Malkovich is the only one with a glint in his eye. Pirate stories aren't supposed to be serious and dark, they're supposed to be fun. Where's Captain Hook?

My husband and I looked forward to each and every episode of Crossbones. We very much enjoyed the two part finale tonight. We wish NBC would have kept it going a bit longer. No, it isn't historically accurate but it's still fun to speculate about Blackbeard the Pirate. The scenery was filmed on location so that was a plus. Also liked the acting and period costumes. I surprised myself when I found myself rooting for the Commodore. It seems that people who saw Black Sails didn't care much for Crossbones in the other reviews, we never saw that one. This is the first time we have seen John Malkovich, we think he is amazing and hung on every word. We also have found some new favorite actors and actresses. Thanks NBC for filling the summertime void. Great entertainment.

As you read on the title, very bad imitation Black Sails. One or two scores higher if they replaced John Malkovich (I don't know if he's famous because he can say a long sentence in one breath, but I consider it dumb), another score if the story was a bit slower to make viewers catch up, and additional scores would be rewarded if actual pirate characters were played.

The ones acting as Blackbeard's henchmen look more like the rogues you see in pirate video games than ones acting out the reality of how pirates were.

I strongly suggest the whole crew leave their capes and gowns and look forward to another season of Black Sails; who knows, maybe they learn a thing or two!

Last but not least, I gave this one a 4 just because of the Caribbean colonial era theming; one of my favorite of all times !

I had high expectations considering this series featured John Malkovich. How wrong was I? I detested Black Sails as it was so far removed from reality - this one, amazingly is even worse!!! The beginning fight scene was just terrible. The filming was all over the place and juddery (I guess that was the directors intention?) and the acting was farcical! One of the crew had painted his face like a skeleton... really?! We only managed to watch about ten minutes before realising that it wasn't going to improve. We immediately put Master and Commander on afterwards to remind ourselves how a truly great film can be made about the seafaring era. I can only surmise that Malkovich must need the money - why else would he allow himself to be cast in such dross?

You really should, while it is still available for free on Hulu. Don't let the negative reviews deter you; you may have noticed that most of them are from people who gave up in disgust after the first episode or so. I eagerly watched the whole thing, and am sorry there will not be more.

This is a pirate tale, not a documentary, and yes, the writers have taken a bit (or more than a bit) of license with the Blackbeard legend. I for one don't care, to me it is an entertaining story, and an engaging application of "What if?"

I find the dialog to be exceptionally well written, especially the exchanges between Richard Coyle and Claire Foy. I think the writers may have overestimated their audience in this regard; it seems to me that of the people who complain about it, most simply haven't the vocabulary to understand it, therefore to them the dialog is "bad."

Regarding the much-maligned accent of Mr. Malkovich, it may be horrible, it may not, but I for one can't claim to be expert on the amazing diversity of accents to be found on that little island. I do know enough about them to realize that not everyone there sounds like (well, insert the name of your favorite posh-sounding English actor here.) In any event, I do not find it so off-putting as many seem to. And I am a Johnny Depp fan, but I really don't understand why so many people seem to find his Keith Richards impression preferable to John Malkovich's Blackbeard, at least regarding accent. To me, accents fade into the background as you become familiar with a character. I think if they do not, you may be focusing on the wrong things.

In my opinion this was very well cast. Of course I was familiar with John Malkovich, but the others were almost entirely new to me. Richard Coyle looked vaguely familiar, and it wasn't until I happened to re-watch his performance as Moist Von Lipvig that I realized from where. The same went for Claire Foy, though her Adora Belle Dearheart character was so different from Kate Balfour as to make her pretty much unrecognizable from one to the other. (Terry Pratchett fans will probably understand these references, the rest of you can look them up.) :)

The rest of the cast performed quite well, and all deserve mention, but I must say Ezra Buzzington stood out for me, for some reason, even though his appearances were few and far between. Julian Sands, as usual, made a great villain.

Whatever else it may be, this is an excellently written and acted pirate tale; if you are the sort of person who enjoys this sort of thing, you really shouldn't miss it.

Set in the Caribbean ? Where is the beautiful turquoise waters? It looks like it was filmed in the Pacific ocean ? Black Sails from Starz network has 1 full season . The characters are just the way I would of imagined them from the book.Treasure Island that is.I can't wait for the next season to start. Black Sails is way better. It seems way more realistic . Beautiful scenery ,including the ladies.Watching Black Sails makes me want to see the Caribbean again. John Malkovich is well , just being John Malkovich as usual.Where at least is the black beard? I don't find women to be very menacing to be pirates.The ships don't even seem to be very realistic .

While Black Sails pushed the boundaries with their female cast, they still manage to keep them grounded in reality. For instance, in Black Sails you have the female pirate Anne Bonny but it is always clear that she is a woman in a mans world and can be easily overpowered at any time, so she needs to remain cunning. Crossbones however, just ignores reality and injects modern fantasies of women. I rolled my eyes in the first battle sequence which included a black female pirate overpowering multiple men during a ship boarding. It gets worse with Blackbeard's right hand being a highly educate women in the Caribbean who can break ciphers? These sorts of feminist fantasies always ruin historical shows. I kept finding myself distracted throughout the first episode and not caring about what was going on since it felt like it was filmed on a Hollywood set and not on a Caribbean island. End result: Crossbones does not hold a candle to Black Sails, which is a gritty, much more realistic take on pirates.

I think it did have a fairly solid start. The show is altogether fresh, lively and has the promise of greater value in store. So it would surely deserve more favourable ratings especially in comparison to Black Sails which in my opinion is definitely inferior to Crossbones. I do enjoy the dialogues. It is language in use and wit. I like it when interaction between characters is not reduced to grunts, barking or the odd screams and moans. No doubt John Malkovich is deservedly hailed by critics but it is slightly far-fetched to state that but for him the show would be lacking in any flavour. Richard Coyle and Claire Foy do deliver well and for that matter so do the rest of the cast. Based on the pilot I say that the series has potential and I'm not expecting to be proved wrong.

Despite the poor reviews I decided to give this one a shot. Glad I did. John Malkovich has never been a fave of mine. His best performance to memory was playing himself...in pretty much every role. But I find him entertaining nevertheless. He has added a new face to his repertoire it seems. Something akin to the POTUS doing an impersonation of Ben Stiller in Zoolander. Like I said...entertaining. Could have been shorter, but few dull moments so no complaints. Watchable. Bordering on enjoyable...

I must have been watching a different show than other reviewers, because I cannot figure out the incredibly glowing reviews. Within the first 3 minutes of the show starting, my first thought was "wow, this looks like a B-movie" and then a fight scene started between 2 ships. I was shocked at how badly choreographed and even more - how poorly acted the fight scene was. It honestly looked like the director grabbed a bunch of people from around his neighborhood to dress up and swing swords just so he's have enough 'pirates' in the scene.

The sets are big, but look like they were taken out of Disney's 'Hook' (Robin Williams version). Too overly made up and too fake looking. They just went a bit far with set decorating and coloring... to the point they look like stage props. I was sad. Black Sails falters itself sometimes, but at least it's sets and props LOOK realistic. Black Sails sets are 'muddied up' enough to look realistically used and dirty and the props don't look like they came off of a Disneyland stage set.

The acting was great from 2 of the actors: Malkovich as Black Beard, and Richard Coyle as Tom Lowe, the spy sent to kill him. The other immediate supporting cast was OK at best. But it is the rest of the background cast that is simply bad. I'm sorry, but seeing old fat guys who look like they were mowing the lawn on a riding mower next door just the day before, thrown into the mix as either pirates or English Red-Coats is simply bad. At least Black Sails puts together a believable looking cast from top to bottom. Crossbones just looked bad in that it simply looks over-thought and over-designed.

The storyline is OK... but if it weren't for Richard Coyle's acting, it would have fallen apart quickly with another actor. He worked hard with the limited resources he had when it came to a story. Malkovich is a great actor and I've always loved his stuff, but this one takes him out of a comfort zone and doesn't showcase him as well as it should. He always plays 'crazy' well in films, but the writing in this show falls short of his acting chops.

I hope the series gets better than the premier, otherwise it's going to be like watching a bad Disney movie.