Remember about 20 or so years ago when the final credits rolled on Braveheart, and you thought, “Man, I really can’t wait for the sequel?”
Didn’t think so.
Outlaw King is a new historical epic that literally picks up where Braveheart left off. William Wallace is dead, and rebellious Scottish nobles have pledged loyalty to the king. However, unrest and revolution lie within the hearts of many a Scot, including Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine). Bruce, upon seeing a dismembered limb of Wallace strung up in his village’s harbor, knows what he must do — fight for the freedom of his people once again.
The similarities to Braveheart are unfortunate. Outlaw King literally retreads Braveheart’s action aesthetics, soundtrack, and narrative structure. We literally see Robert the Bruce go through the same, “lost my army let’s resort to guerrilla warfare” and “use the land to our advantage” plot points from Braveheart. Blood spatters in the same way. Hell, we even see Bruce and his wife employ the same wildflower as as symbol their relationship that William Wallace and his wife did.
David McKenzie, who was nominated for an Oscar for his excellent Western/crime drama Hell or High Water, wrote and directed this film. This makes the Braveheart retreads even more stunning. In Hell or High Water, McKenzie took a well worn premises — heist films, Westerns, the “one last job and I’m out” films — and turned them on their head. He played with these subgenres, sometimes turning them on their head, and created something special. Here it’s a safe, hit the beats everyone wants, and let’s go home type of film.
The script, again surprisingly, does a major disservice to Pine, and to a lesser extent the film’s other lead, Florence Pugh (more on her later). The first 30 minutes of this movie are absolutely agonizing to get through. Dialogue is scant, and the always charismatic (even in his quietest moments) Pine, is reduced to a whispering man with a constant look of bewilderment in his eyes. Robert the Bruce is supposed to be this galvanizing leader of men, and for the first 60% of the film the character is given nothing to convince you of that. He seemingly just falls into the role of king, and people just kind of follow him.
As for Pugh, her role is criminally underwritten. Granted, the movie is about Pine’s character, but it’s obvious to see that despite their lack of dialogue, Pugh and Pine have terrific chemistry. There was a lot more to be explored between these two, and more importantly a lot more to be explored about Pugh’s character. Pugh’s skill as an actress shine so brightly here, and she easily out acts the dialogue she’s been given. You want to know more about her character, and you want to get inside her head, but sadly, she’s relegated to a suffering wife in distress role.
Pine, also out-acts what he’s given, as his aforementioned charisma, and likability permeate through the dialogue. Having worked with McKenzie in Hell or High Water, Pine knows how to get the most out of scant dialogue, and after the first 30 minutes, he seems to find himself in the role and run with it. In lesser hands this could’ve been another “throw an American in a European sword epic and watch him flounder” debacle. And for those first dreadful 30 minutes, it sure seemed like it was heading there. However, Pine rights the ship and delivers a solid performance.
What also helps the film are those aforementioned action sequences. Yes, they are eerily similar to Braveheart, but the film commits to them, and scraps the plodding exposition for high intensity sword battles. By placing the focus on the battles, the pace picks up dramatically, and we’re never left too long in dialogue heavy scenes. The cinematography, done by film vet Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), is remarkable. The beautiful epic shots of the Scottish landscapes juxtaposes wonderfully with the visceral, claustrophobic battle sequences.
Outlaw King is not a bad movie at all. If you can tough out the first 30 minutes, you’ll find a solid epic filled with strong performances. It has its faults, no doubt, but still if you enjoy a good sword film, this will suit you just fine. But, given its pedigree and the subject matter, this should’ve been better.
Rating: 5.5 out of 10
