This will be the first part of a two-part series exploring two films about kings. This post will be about outlaw king an original Netflix film. Next week will be about “The King” likewise an original Netflix film.
The purpose is to see if Original Netflix films are as bad as people say they are. Are they better or worse than what comes out in theaters?
I find it interesting that Netflix would make two historical movies like these. I don’t often see a lot of historical movies being released as well, so it is nice to see someone is willing to make them.
Outlaw King
Outlaw King is about Robert the Bruce who became the king of scots after being outlawed by the English. Already a theme is forming and that is the idea that the English are, how shall I put it, kind of douchebags, who start wars with everyone all the time.
I assume everyone reading this has already seen Braveheart, if not then know that this guy William Wallace was kind of a big deal who fought for Scotland’s independence doing that time. The film kicks into gear when the news of Wallace’s death reaches Robert played by Chris Pine.
Robert gets mad about this aggression and decides to take up arms against the English. The English don’t think that is such a hot idea since they kind of see Scotland as their property. They outlaw him and threatens anyone who is willing to help him.
Robert the now outlawed king decides to fight the English despite being horribly outnumbered. He sets out to unite different clans in Scotland under one banner.
The movie opens with a close-up on a candle with some exposition telling us where and when we are, as well as what is going on. This is a lazy way of delivering exposition, however since we are in a period of time not everyone is going to know, I think it is okay to establish things like this upfront. We do see “The King” do it better.
The film was directed by David Mackenzie who also worked with Pine on “Hell or high water”. Mackenzie does an okay job with the film as a whole, but I did have a problem with the way the beginning of the film plays out.
Essentially the first 10 minutes is one of these “no cuts sequences”. If you don’t know what this is, it is where the filmmaker avoids cutting. Or at least hide their cuts giving the illusion of there being no cuts.
It only acquires the first ten minutes, but I still found it annoying since the camera keeps moving and just won’t hold focus on anything. It always feels like the filmmaker is just doing it for the sake of it. Now, I am a person who likes it when there aren’t as many cuts and you can take your time with the film, I just did not feel it served any purpose in this film. I kept waiting for the film to cut instead of focusing on the story and that is kind of a problem.
A character I really liked was Elisabeth Robert’s wife (played by Florence Pugh). Elisabeth is a strong-willed character who early in the film displays an incredible amount of courage, when she tells of the soldiers, she shows kindness and compassion in the scene where she is introduced and talks to the little girl and her dog, insisting that the girls should call her Elisabeth. She shows devotion to her husband when she refuses to give up the crown to the English. She also spends a lot of time alone in a cage dangling from a castle, where she sings to herself to keep herself sane. Elisabeth was a real treat in this film, she is also not in the film for too long so the plot can move at a good pace.
Other than that everyone in the film does a decent job, except for the guy who plays the Prince of Wales, I thought he was quite underwhelming in the film, plus his character is super annoying with some ugly hair.
The film has a lot of wide shots with some beautiful scenery of Scottish nature.
The movie has a lot of fight scenes, they a gruesome, cruel, bloody, and not glamorous, pretty much as they should be for the film and the time frame.
There is also an infiltration-like mission at one point and it is very well done.
There are some very powerful scenes throughout the film some that spring to mind are.
In the scene where they find out Wallace is dead and Chris Pines is looking shocked as all hell showcasing some fine acting.
The scene where Elisabeth refuses to sign the crown over.
My favorite is when Drew dies at the end and Robert is holding his hand, there is no music, no sounds nothing, only the moment. It gives you time to take it in.
Overall Outlaw King is a decent film that explores a time period not often seen in mainstream cinema. Stay tuned for the next post about “The King”