Outlaw King

Saw this at TIFF and it was definitely a fun and interesting movie. As a history buff the costumes and overall historical accuracy was great. However the scenes moved incredibly quickly, and the writing didn't have a lot of heart. Bruce is all the good guy and the king and prince of wales pure evil. The characters are so much more complex in real life and adding that to the script could have made it fall a little less flat. Again it was fun, but not exactly an Oscar film.

The older generation of Scottish nobles tired of war and surrendered to the English King Edward, but the younger generation only surrendered reluctantly. After his father's death, Robert the Bruce (with a reasonable claim to the Scottish throne) led a rebellion, with multiple victories and losses, in battles small and big.

There are too many minor Scottish leaders who joined the cause, only to be slaughtered in the battles. (I can't call them cannon fodder - cannons had yet to be invented.)

The film is spectacular on the big screen, especially the large-battle scenes. I saw it in a 2000-seat theatre at the Toronto International Film Festival. I'm not sure it will translate well to TV, unless you have something like a 70-inch beast.

Expecting to see a historical movie, your expectation represents the start point. High, skeptical, mix of hope and doubts. But this film is the best answer. For impecable cinematography, for admirable performances, for Chris Pine beautiful job and for atmosphere who seems be the ideal spice in this case. Sure, it is, in same measure, too short and too long. It is far to be the second part for "Braveheart".But it gives more than yours expectations. A great story, impressive fight and battle scenes, care for details and a powerful, convincing lesson about fundamental values. In the age of blockbusters, it is a "must see ". For the force to remind old fashion historical movies in the clothes of present tools. So, more than a nice surprise.

Outlaw King is a eminently enjoyable film. The acting is serviceable, but the costumes, period sets, and cinematography is world-class. The battle scenes are realistic to the point a few may find certain ones too much so. The story works and it's not meant to be any kind of definitive history lesson which it is not. That would be a different movie and would likely be too long eschewing much of the entertainment factor which is the point here. It gets the gist of something historical and makes it interesting and highly entertaining. I think it's well worth watching.

This was a legitimately moving and entertaining movie. The acting is absolutely fantastic, the cinematography is impeccable and the practical effects are undeniably realistic.