Chris Pine shines in Netflix’s Outlaw King, but its no Game of Thrones
By Corey Smith
If you haven’t noticed, Netflix is trying to take over the world. In addition to original series like House of Cards and Marvel’s Daredevil (season 3 was excellent btw), Netflix continues to release high profile movies like Outlaw King, a medieval drama about the life and times of Robert the Bruce, perhaps best known to modern audiences as the dude who betrayed Mel Gibson William Wallace in Braveheart. The movie is headlined by Star Trek frontman Chris Pine, and directed by director David Mackenzie. A trio of Game of Thrones alumni also star, most prominently Stephen Dillane (Stannis Baratheon) as Edward I of England and James Cosmo (Jeor Mormont) as Sir Robert VI de Brus.
So Outlaw King has a Game of Thrones pedigree, but the movie doesn’t prove worthy of the comparison, despite heart-pounding action and cinematography so beautiful it will make you want to book a flight to Scotland. Outlaw King isn’t a bad film, but it’s got too many glaring flaws to be called great.
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Let’s start with the good. Pine shines in the lead role, effortlessly shifting from awkward around his new wife Elizabeth Burgh (Florence Pugh) to boundlessly confident as the head of his family, after his father (Cosmo) passes away. Pine turned in a similarly textured performance in Hell or High Water, a 2017 Best Picture nominee from Outlaw King director David Mackenzie. Likewise, Aaron Taylor Johnson is electric as outlaw James Douglas, who ceaselessly piles up the bodies of his enemies.
Our villains also turn in excellent performances. There are echoes of Stannis Baratheon in Dillane’s turn as King Edward, although Edward is more jovial than than Stannis ever was. King Edward’s son, Prince Edward (Billy Howle) turns in an eye-opener of a performance. In particular, his interrogation of Elizabeth Burgh is hard to watch thanks to Howle’s desperate energy. Top to bottom, none of the performers are slacking in Outlaw King.
Filmed on location in Scotland and England, the movie is visually stunning, with breathtaking scenery and kinetic battle sequences, especially the finale, although even the smaller clashes are exciting. The lake ambush is particularly beautiful, and a little easier to follow than the final confrontation.
What dooms Outlaw King is its pacing. From the battle setups to the decisions made by the characters, everything feels rushed. At first, Robert the Bruce is adamant that his family keep the peace brokered by his father, but immediately changes his mind once William Wallace is caught and executed off screen. There’s little agonizing over the decision; it feels like there’s a scene missing. At another point, Robert start to implement a plan to retake Scotland castle by castle, but quickly changes strategy and decides to stop running and draw the English into an open conflict. The script makes it hard to follow the characters’ shifting motivations.
Elsewhere, several key characters pass away seemingly mid-conversation (one time literally) mere moments after we realize they’re sick or otherwise unhealthy. It’s jarring, and a shame seeing these these excellent performances wasted on an undercooked script.
I would have enjoyed a slightly slower paced film, even if it meant an expanded running time. A quick Google search for Robert the Bruce yields a rich history that jumps off the screen; the movie needs more of it. The final battle sequence, well done though it is, also suffers from typical Hollywood convenience, with our two protagonists somehow finding each other on a battlefield of thousands.
Again, I want to underline that Outlaw King isn’t a bad film. It does more right than wrong, but the script has too many holes to ignore. Outlaw King is worth a watch if you’ve got the time, but it’s not Netflix’s answer to Game of Thrones, or its ticket to Oscar glory.
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