The production features a massive ensemble cast of adult industry stars: Jules Steel Evan Stone: Captain Edward Reynolds Belladonna: Olivia Katsuni (Céline Tran): Xifeng Sasha Grey: Maria Tommy Gunn: Victor Stagnetti
Furthermore, the uncut version has developed a cult following among film students. The Criterion Collection may not have picked it up, but academic essays have been written about its use of the "female gaze" in action cinema—specifically scenes that exist only in the unedited runtime.
From a technical standpoint, is a reference disc for home theater enthusiasts. The Blu-ray release of the Uncut Version boasts:
We are underwater. Not the romantic turquoise of a Caribbean postcard, but the black, crushing deep off the Isle of Muerta. Bubbles rise—not air, but blood. A single, severed hand, still clutching a pearl-handled flintlock, spirals down into the abyss. The hand’s ring bears the crest of the Crimson Vengeance .
: It featured professional-grade CGI, including undead skeletons, Mayan dragons, and sea monsters, which critics compared to the quality of contemporary video games. Mainstream Presentation
While that subplot (involving Gabriella Fox’s character) was removed entirely from the standard cut, it exists in fragmented form in the . It remains the most controversial element of the film, splitting fans between those who defend it as "period-accurate" and those who call it gratuitous.