Directed by:
David MackenzieCinematography:
Barry AckroydComposer:
Grey DogsCast:
Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Howle, Florence Pugh, Tony Curran, Stephen Dillane, Sam Spruell, Callan Mulvey, Matt Stokoe, Duncan Lacroix (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Chris Pine stars as Scotland's legendary Robert the Bruce. More warrior than statesman, he is fiercely loyal to his men and country, and an equally fierce adversary in battle. He and his fellow Scots bristle at England's attempts to rule them. When Robert seizes the opportunity to ascend the Scottish throne, England unleashes its fury, forcing the proud king into exile. Now known far-and-wide as an outlaw, Robert must use both strategy and his warrior skills to win back his nation for his people. (Toronto International Film Festival)
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Reviews (15)
100 minutes of alternating epic, bloody and generously designed scenes and dialogues, which are simply a bit of cheesy historical TV series. Mackenzie aspires to the dark medieval carnation, which he thrives on in luxury crowd scenes and some quadratures of Scots, but other times he uses superficial adornments and Gaelic kitsch. Nevertheless, I like Pine a lot. He's not an exaggerated macho caricature, but rather a guy who has been going after what he wants in a calm and steadfastness manner for some time. It may seem strange to some people that this is the leader people follow - I understand them. I would follow him, too. Btw, Aaron Taylor-Johnson seems to have a taste for raw beef for the first time in his career.
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David Mackenzie is awesome and after Hell or High Water he serves up the best historical film of the decade with the excellent Chris Pine improving film by film. Absolutely everything works here, the accurate history, the spectacular production design, the impressive costumes and sets (gorgeous castles), the naked queen is not missing, the impressive milking of emotions throughout the film, and most importantly, the spectacular battles where blood and bodies are certainly not spared. The scene with the horses is an absolute highlight of the genre and will probably make horse lovers cry. High praise also goes to Douglas, who steals most of the scenes for himself and is horrifically brutal in them. A wonderful and near-perfect film and experience, where my only regret is that I couldn't see it on the big screen. One of the best films of the year. After a second viewing the enthusiasm has waned slightly, but still good. 80%
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A prequel to Braveheart, which ironically tells the story after it. Pine is an interesting choice for a medieval protagonist and it has to be said that he fits Robert the Bruce quite well, although it doesn't seem like it at first. Mackenzie makes up for the poor script and the lack of strong emotions with a slick medieval carnage, not quite good enough, but certainly above standard within the genre. Of course, in terms of epic, romantic line or directorial virtuosity, it doesn't even come close to Gibson.
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An impeccable historical film, just impeccable. I really have nothing to criticize, although I would appreciate it if the film was longer, because few recent films deserve it as much as this one. It’s all good, though. Even so, it is an attractive story with a tremendous gradient, constantly gaining pace and dramatism, funny in such a “guy" way, but it’s definitely not only for lovers of medieval battle films. The film is still about the characters, and thanks to the excellent actors, we also care about them. Chris Pine has a bit of Connery in him, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is madly wild beyond recognition, the virulent Florence Pugh hasn't let me down even once, and he didn't this time either... I would compare it with Braveheart and I see the two films at almost the same level.
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A direct follow-up of the Braveheart, which is definitely more precise in terms of history, however not faithful, not even remotely. However, which does not matter in the genre move, not at all. It has only one major problem; it is too abbreviated in two-hour footage. In addition, in a way that strikes the eye or it start talking about many topics, but nothing more. Even, especially in the middle part, so much that I doubt that I would not blame the same for the twenty-minute longer version that was screened at festivals. Otherwise, it's a dirty historical chamber feature film (no, it's not as contradictory as it would seem), which follows the classic plot of “historical David versus Goliath", but it has an atmosphere, a beautiful set design and a camera (and it's not just about taking advantage of the Scottish Highlands or the introductory nine-minute one-shot scene), an uncompromising battle scene, a soundtrack connected by folk hackneyed songs and surprisingly good performances for such a butchery (perhaps only Edward is a way too excessive cartoon character). This includes Pine, where out of necessity the virtue “so that he doesn't have to speak much of a Scottish accent" is transformed into one of his strengths, because a quiet role based purely on charisma will surprisingly suit him. Outlaw King is exactly what it promised to be. It just had to be longer and therefore not so straightforward. Which, of course, wouldn't matter if it weren't clear from the final cut that the original ambitions were greater.
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