After a little study of Blackbeard and eagerly awaiting this DVD to arrive I was thoroughly disappointed with the historical account of Blackbeard. From start to finish it was not a true story.. yes, it was a boat at sea.. but it was a sloop, not a three masted big boat.. He also was given his command by the commander who he sailed for.. Successful pirates often sailed with a small fleet. Edward Teach was Captain of one of this pirate's sloops. After his boss retired, Edward continued pirating. A shrewd and calculating leader, Teach spurned the use of force, relying instead on his fearsome image to elicit the response he desired from those he robbed. Contrary to the modern-day picture of the traditional tyrannical pirate, he commanded his vessels with the permission of their crews and there is no known account of his ever having harmed or murdered those he held captive. So, by calling this movie The true story of Blackbeard is wildly misleading. His real life story is far more interesting than this movie, I would suggest anyone who wants a more realistic account of Blackbeard to search for "Blackbeard The Real Pirates Of The Caribbean", James Purefoy as Black Beard.

The recent popularity of Captain Jack Sparrow as essayed by Johnny Depp in several films gave someone at Hallmark Channel the idea of making a movie about the real deal on whom Jack Sparrow is based. That would be on Edward Teach known down in history and legend as Blackbeard. But sad to say that not only is Angus MacFayden competing against Depp on the big screen, but also against an actor gone from us since 1957, but one who made the role of Blackbeard truly his own.Robert did a wonderful film about the demise of Blackbeard back in 1952 and no doubt Johnny Depp must have studied that portrayal intensely because he got so much of it in Jack Sparrow. It's not Angus MacFayden's fault, but next to Newton giving one of the great pork product performances in a role that called for it, MacFayden taking it down a notch was disappointing.Young British naval lieutenant Mark Umbers is given orders straight from the Admiralty in London. Find out about this Blackbeard guy and take him however and trust no one in your mission because we don't know who is in with Blackbeard. This he does. Along the way he has to rescue Jessica Chastain, ward of British Island governor Richard Chamberlain who has plans for her that neither she or Umbers is in favor of.This version of Blackbeard is all right, but once you've seen Robert Newton you can't settle for anything else.

A few nights ago I was flipping through the channels and I came upon a treasure chest full of sh**(Blackbeard), but being the generous soul I am I decided to give this movie a chance: That was my first mistake. I hated this movie from start to finish, because I quickly learned that Blackbeard was a Captain Jack Sparrow wannabe. He dressed like Sparrow; walked, talked and acted like Sparrow and just might be the "next best thing" but not quite Sparrow! Sorry I lied Blackbeard isn't "the next best" at anything, the pirate that was at my third birthday party was more of man then Blackbeard. It doesn't end there, this movie wouldn't be complete without Zoroish Bandits, Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, Governor Swann, and Bad-Acting Pirates. Note this people I wasn't expecting much when I started watching this "film" and I use the term loosely, I just expected at least a history channel esq documentary at best, but instead I got a Pirates of the Caribbean rip off. I would rather play in a radioactive waste dump then endure another 160 minutes of this piece of trash. So, I hope this film rots at the bottom of Davey Jones' Locker with the rest of the Pirates of the Caribbean rip offs.

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.