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Netflix. Watch Outlaw King with a subscription on Netflix. Muddy and bloody to a fault, Outlaw King doesn't skimp on the medieval battle scenes, but tends to lose track of the fact-based...
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Outlaw King and its discursiveness feel necessary and apt as...
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- An updated reappraisal of the film based on the new, shorter cut.
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- Verdict
By Jim Vejvoda
Updated: Nov 9, 2018 12:43 am
Posted: Nov 8, 2018 8:40 pm
Outlaw King was originally reviewed at the Toronto International Film Fest.
Roughly twenty minutes has been cut from Netflix’s Outlaw King since it first screened for critics at September’s Toronto International Film Festival. This leaner version, debuting exclusively on Netflix on November 9th, is enough of an improvement over the film I reviewed at TIFF that I felt compelled to update my existing review and bump up the final score to 7.4 out of 10 (or "good").
My original review — where I gave director David Mackenzie’s film an “okay” score of 6.9 — can be found below. A significant amount of the story’s political machinations where the Scottish lords, including Chris Pine’s Robert the Bruce, opined on matters of liberty and such, have been excised from this final cut. While the history buff in me appreciated Mackenzie’s attention to detail, the narrative was bogged down by these expository and relatively mundane scenes, with the film’s overall pacing lurching between those flat moments and the far more visceral and engaging sections where Robert is either waging war or on the run.
Chris Pine never seems comfortable in the role of Robert the Bruce, often looking like even he can’t believe he’s all dressed up playing a medieval warrior-king. Some of that may stem from his unconvincing accent, but Pine never quite manages to help one suspend their disbelief at seeing an American star playing a Scottish legend the way Gibson did in Braveheart. While Pine finds the humanity and vulnerability in this larger-than-life figure, from poignant moments with his men and his family to flashes of desperation or rage during the battle scenes, he just never seems at home in the piece. When seen alongside European actors who all appear far more comfortable in their characters’ skins and period garb, Pine comes across like an anachronism.
His co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson often steals the show with his wild-eyed turn as James Douglas, Robert’s ally who’s out to win back his lands and his family name. Douglas has a purpose and a goal that’s far more potent and universally relatable than Robert the Bruce’s broader political agenda. It’s not until later in the film, when Robert is given a personal motivation for vengeance, that the character and Pine’s performance rise above delivering costume drama platitudes and stalwart epic hero talk of loyalty, land and lords.
In addition to Taylor-Johnson, the supporting cast features notable turns from Florence Pugh as Robert the Bruce’s politically arranged wife Elizabeth de Burgh, Billy Howle as the Prince of Wales (depicted as a brat-who would be-king, complete with a bowl cut), and Game of Thrones’ Stephen Dillane as English king Edward I (yes, the same nasty “Longshanks” depicted in Braveheart). Tony Curran also turns in a suitably gruff performance as Robert’s trusted ally, Angus Macdonald.
Outlaw King does manage to find some moments of levity amidst all the grime and bloodshed, as well as a few nice breathers where we see the simple joys of the Scots’ community. When the film works, it can be very engaging but it is simply too inconsistent.
UPDATE: The shorter, final version of Netflix's Outlaw King is an improvement over the bloated and uneven longer version that screened at TIFF. These edits strengthen not only the film's pacing but hone Chris Pine's performance to be more confident and engaging. The film is strongest when it focuses on the personal rather than the political, on wha...
Nov 9, 2018 · David Mackenzie’s new Netflix film about Scotland’s independence fight trades the romance of battlefield glory for the grimy truth of medieval warfare. By David Sims. Chris Pine as King Robert ...
- David Mackenzie
Nov 8, 2018 · David Mackenzie’s rousing, Scotland-set medieval epic Outlaw King faces no such problems. With Netflix behind him, and a reported budget of more than $90m, Mackenzie is able to deploy vast ...
- 2 min
- Geoffrey Macnab
Nov 10, 2018 · Outlaw King picks up where Mel Gibson's multi-Oscar-winning 1995 epic left off, as Scottish nobleman Robert the Bruce battles to win independence from England. A minor character in Braveheart...
Nov 10, 2018 · From Hell or Highwater director David Mackenzie, this Braveheart-adjacent Netflix drama finds the Star Trek star saving Scotland and hanging out in some beautiful locations that are good enough...
Oct 20, 2018 · Netflix’s ‘Braveheart’ follow-up ‘Outlaw King’ is an old-school historical epic Chris Pine charms as Scottish hero Robert the Bruce in this medieval action epic.
