One of the trends I’ve noticed in the past few years is the lack of historic epics. Long gone are the times of Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, Gladiator, and others. It would appear that Ridley Scott is singlehandedly keeping this subgenre alive but more about that later. Outlaw King is an engaging historic epic about the David vs. Goliath war between the Scottish resistance and English occupiers. It’s always the fucking English, innit. And I’m sure the Irish share the same sentiment. Well, empires were fashionable back then and they’re fashionable now, just ask the United States.
However, you didn’t come here to listen to me yap about colonialism and why all of this is happening. You came here to find out if this movie is worth watching. And I can tell you right now that Outlaw King is a movie worth watching. Don’t think that just because it’s a Netflix movie it’s somehow inferior. The production values are stellar and we will get the chance to see some stunning battles. The costumes, sets and pretty much everything else was authentic and believable. Not to mention the stunning and quite melancholic Scottish landscapes. Pay close attention to the opening scene.
It’s a one continuous tracking shot featuring a sword fight, a bit of banter, and ending in one hell of a trebuchet shot. And yes, King Edward did not accept the surrender of the castle just because he wanted to test out his new weapon of war. This scene is almost ten minutes long and it puts you in the right mood for the rest of the movie. Still, you should know that this isn’t one of those “AAA historic epics”. However, numbers sometimes don’t mean much, just ask the main character in Outlaw King, King Bruce himself. What can I tell you, I just love these stories of underdogs sticking it to the man and fighting for independence.
It is the year of our lord Black Adder 1304 and Bruce along with other Scottish nobles ends the rebellion by signing a pact with the English. He knows that this is a mistake but decides to bide his time and wait for the perfect opportunity. The perfect opportunity to start the rebellion again. Vastly outnumbered and faced with many problems, it will be a hard and long journey to freedom for our fellow Scotts. Bruce decided to employ the classic guerilla tactics here. Which was quite strange to see in the 14th century.
In fact, there’s so much stuff here that I’m surprised Netflix didn’t turn this into a miniseries. After all, the first rough cut of the movie was over four hours long. After the poor reception by film critics at the Toronto International Film Festival, director David Mackenzie decided to cut 20 minutes from the film. What can I say, sometimes you simply should not listen to those “professional” critics and go with your gut. The version I saw and that’s currently available on Netflix is exactly two hours long. Hopefully, we will get the director’s cut in the coming years because I think the Outlaw King deserves it.
Chris Pine was excellent as Robert Bruce and the rest of the cast did a terrific job as well. He even declined a role in an untitled Star Trek sequel to star in this movie. In which he appears fully nude at one point, just so you know. I will use anything at my disposal to get you to watch Outlaw King. Florence Pugh stole the show as Elizabeth de Burgh, his wife. It was also nice to see Braveheart veteran James Cosmo again along with Callan Mulvey (300) and Tony Curran (The Pillars of the Earth).
Speaking of that Mel Gibson classic, the story here actually picks up where he left off. Wallace is still alive but in hiding. The battles were quite brutal showing just how brave and I have to say lucky Robert was. Not like today’s army commanders sending their troops into battle while staying safely tucked away in the back. He was actually there, in the thick of it. One of those scenes looks like a fucking renaissance painting as you can see below.
Finally, if you’re looking for more recent historic epics I suggest you check out The King [2019]. Oddly enough, that same year we got another movie about the Scottish outlaw king simply titled Robert the Bruce. I didn’t forget that Ridley Scott reference so The Last Duel and Napoleon are also good choices.
Director: David Mackenzie
Writers: Bathsheba Doran, David Mackenzie, James MacInnes
Cast: Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Billy Howle, Sam Spruell, Florence Pugh, Tony Curran, James Cosmo
Fun Facts: Some of the scenes were filmed at Dunfermline Abbey, a place where Robert the Bruce was buried in real life. You can visit this amazing Abbey if you ever find yourself in Scotland.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6679794/
