This is an advance review out of the Toronto International Film Fest 2018. Outlaw King premieres on Netflix on November 9.
Netflix’s Outlaw King is a beautiful-looking but uneven historical drama featuring an uncertain lead performance from Chris Pine. The film, which reunites Pine with Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, has the heart but seldom the fighting spirit of the battle-crying, sword-wielding underdog epics of yesteryear that it wants to evoke.
The story chronicles Robert the Bruce’s (Pine) journey from defeated rebel to King of Scots, waging a campaign to win the crown and unite his countrymen against their English overlords. Shot on location in Scotland, director David Mackenzie (and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd) captures the damp and dreary beauty of his native country. The movie begins with a nearly 10-minute-long, one-take scene that includes an oath ceremony, a duel, and a catapult firing on a castle. It’s a promising start but after that the film progresses on unsure footing, as rough and rocky as the terrain its characters travel. The narrative lurches from perfunctory political scenes to countryside ambushes to quieter moments and then repeat.
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Netflix’s Outlaw King is a beautiful-looking but uneven historical drama featuring an uncertain lead performance from Chris Pine. The film, which reunites Pine with Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, has the heart but seldom the fighting spirit of the battle-crying, sword-wielding underdog epics of yesteryear that it wants to evoke.
The story chronicles Robert the Bruce’s (Pine) journey from defeated rebel to King of Scots, waging a campaign to win the crown and unite his countrymen against their English overlords. Shot on location in Scotland, director David Mackenzie (and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd) captures the damp and dreary beauty of his native country. The movie begins with a nearly 10-minute-long, one-take scene that includes an oath ceremony, a duel, and a catapult firing on a castle. It’s a promising start but after that the film progresses on unsure footing, as rough and rocky as the terrain its characters travel. The narrative lurches from perfunctory political scenes to countryside ambushes to quieter moments and then repeat.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...