SummaryThe comedy series from David Jenkins and Taika Waititi is loosely based on the true story Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), an 18th-century wealthy landowner who gave it all up to become a pirate.
SummaryThe comedy series from David Jenkins and Taika Waititi is loosely based on the true story Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby), an 18th-century wealthy landowner who gave it all up to become a pirate.
With a series so well-anchored by these two men, the range of the ensemble in place to support them also happens to be a wealth of comedic riches. ... Here, too, lies an example of something that Our Flag Means Death pulls off so well: the blending of comedy and sincerity, especially between the type of people who are still trying to discover the truest versions of themselves.
Fervent fans of the series will be majorly rewarded here; its sophomore season doesn't just bring a meaningful continuation of the story of the Revenge crew, but also some perfectly plotted-out season 1 parallels and sly fandom in-jokes.
Although Our Flag Means Death isn’t laugh-a-minute, it’s got a good-enough story to set up a unique workplace comedy. It may take a few episodes, but the funny stuff will come once the ensemble is well-established.
Things perk up when Blackbeard (Waititi) and his crew show up, providing a necessary contrast between actual pirates and the ragtag bunch we start with, but their stronger personalities only underline the fact that the original crew is undersketched.
“Our Flag Means Death” is always stuck feeling like it’s either trying too hard, or not trying enough; it plays out like the kind of comic experiment that must have been fun for its actors and filmmakers, while we struggle to get on board with its freewheeling dopiness.