Outlaw King
Director: David Mackenzie
Year Released: 2018
Rating: 1.5
Scotsman Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) gets more than a little tired of how King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) is treating his people and his family (to put it mildly) so he assembles a ragtag group of warriors to fight back ... by burning down his own castles and being a nuisance. Say what you will about Mel Gibson's factually dubious Braveheart, but at least it was immersive - Mackenzie's approach is more history-by-the-numbers that doesn't really start to come alive until the very end with the Battle of Loudoun Hill, where he used some creative military techniques (death by impalement!). Pine is a fine actor, but all he has to do is stand and look austere; Florence Pugh, as his devoted wife Elizabeth, is not afforded enough screen time (there is one sex scene that is cute and delicately shot). Every friend group needs at least one Black Douglas (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), screaming to the heavens and soaked in the blood of his enemies (squad goals!).
