The following review makes reference to the 2018 film Outlaw King, and does not contain spoilers of any type.

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Year: 2018 Category: Historical, Action, Drama.
Director: David Mackenzie. Cast: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Tony Curran, Callan Mulvey, Stephen Dillane.

Plot

Scotland, year 1304. After the execution of William Wallace, forced to enter battle to save his family, his people and his country from the tyrannical British occupation, Robert the Bruce seizes the crown of Scotland and leads a group of insurgent men to face the wrath of the army led by the ruthless King Edward I and his weak son, the Prince of Wales.

Opinion

The events of this film take place after William Wallace was tortured and murdered, Scottish nobles surrender to Edward I of England, however, the Scottish dissatisfaction with English abuses motivates Robert the Bruce, recently married to Elizabeth de Burgh, ask for the support of the Church and later be crowned King of the Scots, and then raise an army with the support of Angus MacDonald and James Douglas to face the English.

The film begins with a fantastic long take that immerses you immediately in the story, showing how Edward I shows his power over Robert Bruce, John Comyn and the rest of the Scottish nobility; and without cutting at any moment the image continues with a duel of swords between Robert Bruce and Edward II of England; and then show the disdain of Edward I of England towards his own son and James Douglas, who asks for his lost lands, to finally end the war with the demonstration of his battle machine.

The direction of David Mackenzie, who also directed Hell or High Water, was very good, the photography work is excellent, seeing the Scottish landscapes is quite nice, but it does not end there, the battle scenes seem to be inspired by Game of Thrones and even Vikings, without necessarily reaching the level of these magnificent series.

The script, which was a team effort between David Mackenzie, Bathsheba Doran, James MacInnes, Mark Bomback and David Harrower, is based on real historical events, however, they do not make the film as epic as Braveheart was, something disappointing even though manages to feel even historically more real than Mel Gibson's movie.

The performances are good, Chris Pine does a good job, I think his association with Mackenzie and the jobs he's recently participating in are the best of his acting career. Apparently, Ben Foster was going to play James Douglas, which was probably something great, however, different commitments did not allow it, so the interpretation of Douglas ended up in the hands of Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and he does good. Billy Howle plays Edward II of England, and although he does not do anything special his work is acceptable. I also liked the work of Florence Pugh, who does not do anything necessarily great, but she is an actress who has a career on the rise, I will surely see more of her soon. It was also interesting to see Stephen Dillane in this film playing King Edward I of England, his performance made me remember his character in Game of Thrones, Stannis Baratheon.

The conclusion, the film is entertaining, but it lacks epic moments of great interest, and does not convey what a film about this precise historical event should convey. I have the feeling that with all the talent of the participants of this film, could have given us something better. However, it is a film entertaining enough to see, has a great photography work and quality technical performance.

Trailer

Score

7/10

Good direction, acceptable script, relatively convincing interpretations, excellent photography, with an interesting story. At the time of publishing this review the film is available in the Netflix catalog for the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy , Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States.