Movie review: Netflix's 'Outlaw King' a bloody — and bloody awful — historical epic
“Outlaw King” - ★
Set in early 14th-century Scotland, “Outlaw King” could be described as a spinoff of “Braveheart,” the stirring historical epic about Scottish rebel William Wallace that cleaned up at the 1996 Oscars.
It could be described that way because the character of Wallace, who is in hiding when “Outlaw King” begins, makes a brief appearance in the new film, which tells the story of Wallace's contemporary, Robert the Bruce, played by Chris Pine beneath a salt-and-pepper beard and an unflattering mullet.
Technically, only a part of Wallace shows up here, after he has been captured by the English and drawn and quartered for his disloyalty to the crown. It's one arm and part of his chest, a grisly warning of more violence to come in this bloody — and bloody awful — historical epic that reunites Pine with his “Hell and High Water” director David Mackenzie.
This tedious slog through the highland muck should win no Oscars, only groans and raspberries. Even the much-buzzed-about glimpse of a nude Pine, as his character emerges from a lake, doesn't make this worth watching.
Robert picks up the mantle of rebellion against the British monarch King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) and his cruel son (Billy Howle, in a ridiculous bowl haircut that makes Robert's shag look good by comparison). Reacting to oppressive taxation, the forced conscription of young Scottish men and the imprisonment of his young bride (a fiery Florence Pugh of “Lady Macbeth”), Robert takes up arms against England as he slowly recruits other Scottish noblemen to the cause of guerrilla warfare.
The film culminates in the 1307 Battle of Loudoun Hill, which was a turning point in the struggle for Scottish independence. In the context of “Outlaw King,” the overlong, overly violent and chaotic scene delivers another form of liberation: ours, from a movie that is a predictable, monotonous and badly written mess.
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Starring: Chris Pine, Florence Pugh, Stephen Dillane, Billy Howle
Directed by: David Mackenzie
Other: A Netflix release. In limited theatrical release and available via Netflix. Rated R for violence, sexual situations, language and nudity. 121 minutes