'Outlaw King' Is Terrific, but Would Have Been Better as a Mini-Series

I love the movie Braveheart, and I felt that Outlaw King could serve as a satisfying spiritual successor of sorts.  Having watched it, I think this assumption of mine has proven to be mostly correct.

Outlaw King is a historical epic action drama film about Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine), the real-life Scottish hero who crowned himself King of Scots in the middle of an oppressive occupation of the English, led by King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) and his impulsive son, Edward, Prince of Wales (Billy Howle).  Despite being greatly outnumbered, Robert’s forces conduct a successful campaign by using their familiarity with the land and employing guerrilla tactics.

Solid pacing, fantastic production quality, striking cinematography, exciting set pieces, and magnetic acting across the board have made the film a consistently riveting watch from start to finish.  It also employs explicit mature content – like gory violence, sex, and nudity – to provide titillation in a well-timed and well-placed manner to spice things up without being too overly gratuitous.  All these things considered, it’s rather obvious that it’s attempting to channel Game of Thrones’ style.  And it’s compelling through and through as a result.

Outlaw King is terrific, but I think a mini-series of the same quality would have been more fitting and rewarding.  I did some reading about Robert the Bruce, and I thought the film didn’t capture all the interesting aspects of his life.  The film’s depiction is pretty incomplete.  A mini-series would have had more time to explore his life more thoroughly.  I would have loved to see more of his guerrilla warfare operations, as well as how he eventually brought the fighting into England and Ireland.

Of course, it’s possible that the lack of Game of Thrones this year has made me like Outlaw King more than I would have had if otherwise.  Nevertheless, the fact remains that it did entertain me immensely.