Outlaw King (C+ or 2.5/4 stars)
'Outlaw King' (directed by David Mackenzie, Starred Up, Hell or High Water) follows the events of 1995's Braveheart in the dark, dour 14th century and introduces us to Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Chris Pine); who initially bends his knee in allegiance to dictatorial King Edward I of England (Stephen Dillane, so good in last yr.'s Darkest Hour) at the behest of his ailing father, Robert Bruce Sr. (James Cosmo). However, once Robert Sr. is dead, and after the body parts of William Wallace {Mel Gibson from Braveheart} shows up, Robert Jr. comes to regret the decision to follow the corrupt King of England, and he is soon in open rebellion against the Crown so that Scotland can be free. To this, he accepts the new title of Robert I, King of the Scots.
His new wife, Elizabeth (beautiful Florence Pugh, of last yr.'s Lady Macbeth), is initially coy with Robert, but emerges from the shadows {often literally} to stand beside him & the various nobles, including wily James Douglas (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), whose title was stripped from his family by vile King Edward, & Angus Og Macdonald (Tony Curran), join his cause, as well. In predictable fashion, the king is livid with this Scottish uprising & sends his creepy little son, The Prince of Wales/Edward Jr. (Billy Howle), to end said uprising ... by any means necessary. Bloody, muddy chaos ensues throughout this tale of rebellion, betrayal & love.
So, movie opened at the Toronto Film Festival to so-so reviews and the director opted to cut 20 minutes from the 140 min. running time for its Netflix release. To that I say: good. Though I admire quite a bit in 'Outlaw King' and, despite some beautiful cinematography, decent performances & bloody action galore ... I was surprised to find so much of it to be a SLOG; I imagine I'd like it far less with those other 20 min. tacked on. Despite my issues, 2 relationships depicted here are fun to watch. The 1st involves Robert Bruce & his reluctant bride, Elizabeth. Pine & Pugh are believable, here. I liked watching their love develop. And in the midst of some of the never-ending battle scenes, I long for one of their one-on-ones.
The other relationship of note is the highly dysfunctional one btwn. King Edward I & his power hungry son, the Prince of Wales (Billy Howle). Howle is solid as the loathsome villain that a film like this requires and, Stephen Dillane's portrayal as tyrannical Edward stings, as well. David Mackenzie got a great performance out of Chris Pine in the wonderful Hell or High Water and, though he's not AS impressive here, I give Pine credit for employing a solid Scottish accent. I've liked Pine in such films as the Star Trek series, Z for Zachariah, the underrated The Finest Hours, Wonder Woman, among others. I just wouldn't put this film in that heap. Pine's Robert Bruce is one dour guy and, I'm glad that the fresh-faced Florence Pugh lightens him up in spots.
Barry Ackroyd's pictorial landscape camerawork & the period re-creations are stunning. This muscular film looks & feels like dingy, dirty 14th c. Scotland. The roadways are thoroughly muddy, the towering castles look lived-in, & everyday life there looks suitably miserable, haha. I just wish this film was more fact-based {as my co-worker Denise, ancestor of Robert Bruce, informed me}, kinetic and, well ... interesting. The focus is on the monotonous battles & the rest relies on simpler, unexciting plotting; where the characterizations revolve around battles and not humanistic happenstance. know, much has been made of Chris Pine showing his penis late in the proceedings. I hate to say it but, I imagine many people will tune-in for that and care little for the rest. Robert Bruce is a fascinating subject, but perhaps his story would've been better suited to a richer 6-part miniseries.
His new wife, Elizabeth (beautiful Florence Pugh, of last yr.'s Lady Macbeth), is initially coy with Robert, but emerges from the shadows {often literally} to stand beside him & the various nobles, including wily James Douglas (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), whose title was stripped from his family by vile King Edward, & Angus Og Macdonald (Tony Curran), join his cause, as well. In predictable fashion, the king is livid with this Scottish uprising & sends his creepy little son, The Prince of Wales/Edward Jr. (Billy Howle), to end said uprising ... by any means necessary. Bloody, muddy chaos ensues throughout this tale of rebellion, betrayal & love.
So, movie opened at the Toronto Film Festival to so-so reviews and the director opted to cut 20 minutes from the 140 min. running time for its Netflix release. To that I say: good. Though I admire quite a bit in 'Outlaw King' and, despite some beautiful cinematography, decent performances & bloody action galore ... I was surprised to find so much of it to be a SLOG; I imagine I'd like it far less with those other 20 min. tacked on. Despite my issues, 2 relationships depicted here are fun to watch. The 1st involves Robert Bruce & his reluctant bride, Elizabeth. Pine & Pugh are believable, here. I liked watching their love develop. And in the midst of some of the never-ending battle scenes, I long for one of their one-on-ones.
The other relationship of note is the highly dysfunctional one btwn. King Edward I & his power hungry son, the Prince of Wales (Billy Howle). Howle is solid as the loathsome villain that a film like this requires and, Stephen Dillane's portrayal as tyrannical Edward stings, as well. David Mackenzie got a great performance out of Chris Pine in the wonderful Hell or High Water and, though he's not AS impressive here, I give Pine credit for employing a solid Scottish accent. I've liked Pine in such films as the Star Trek series, Z for Zachariah, the underrated The Finest Hours, Wonder Woman, among others. I just wouldn't put this film in that heap. Pine's Robert Bruce is one dour guy and, I'm glad that the fresh-faced Florence Pugh lightens him up in spots.
Barry Ackroyd's pictorial landscape camerawork & the period re-creations are stunning. This muscular film looks & feels like dingy, dirty 14th c. Scotland. The roadways are thoroughly muddy, the towering castles look lived-in, & everyday life there looks suitably miserable, haha. I just wish this film was more fact-based {as my co-worker Denise, ancestor of Robert Bruce, informed me}, kinetic and, well ... interesting. The focus is on the monotonous battles & the rest relies on simpler, unexciting plotting; where the characterizations revolve around battles and not humanistic happenstance. know, much has been made of Chris Pine showing his penis late in the proceedings. I hate to say it but, I imagine many people will tune-in for that and care little for the rest. Robert Bruce is a fascinating subject, but perhaps his story would've been better suited to a richer 6-part miniseries.