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)
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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)
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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In 2008, Netflix proved that it is also able of producing high-budget period blockbusters with good actors and a skilled director. One such proof is Outlaw King, which more or less picks up where Braveheart left off. Even though I had some trouble to understand who is who in the beginning, it wasn’t that difficult after all. The Scots were fighting for their independence, and Chris Pine proved that the older he gets, the better the performances he delivers. A great movie! Outlaw King might be the best period movie of 2018. Some scenes are borderline genius.
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I've been missing this genre quite a bit, so I ended up enjoying the historical drama Outlaw King quite a bit (despite a few things that weren't quite right). Chris Pine could have been maybe a bit more... active, on the other hand his lack of emotion here is pretty much compensated by Aaron Taylor-Johnson's surprisingly interesting character and a very good Florence Pugh. However, nobody will probably watch it for them anyway, so more importantly, David Mackenzie has done a great job of creating the atmosphere of that nasty medieval era you really don't want to live in. It's muddy, it's cold, it's raining all the time, everybody's dirty and you die on the fly. It also plays on reality (or near-reality), so the battles are appropriately gritty but not overly explicit, and I never felt like the violence was an end in itself. Moreover, the final clash between the two armies is a real treat and it's a shame we can't enjoy it in the cinema. Unfortunately, however, the result shows that a lot of editing had to be done, and perhaps the entire middle third or the "Robin Hood" passage would have deserved a little more space. Overall, it's a good historical drama that's fun to watch, and there have been remarkably few of those in recent years. So for me, I'm satisfied.
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