Synopsis
Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.
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Cast
- Chris PineRobert Bruce, Earl of Carrick
- Aaron Taylor-JohnsonJames Douglas, Lord of Douglas
- Florence PughElizabeth Burgh
- Billy HowleEdward, Prince of Wales
- Sam SpruellAymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke
- Tony CurranAngus Og Macdonald, Lord of Islay
- Callan MulveyJohn III Comyn, Lord of Badenoch
- James CosmoRobert Bruce Senior
- Stephen DillaneKing Edward I of England
- Steven CreeSir Christopher Seton
Recommendations
- 83
Entertainment Weekly
Mackenzie falls a little too in love with his battle scenes; by the fourth clash of blood and swords it all starts to feel like déjà vu, with different horses. At nearly two and a half hours, there’s clearly room to trim.... But he also films it beautifully in the natural light of candles, torches, and overcast skies, and there’s a solidness to the old-fashioned conventions of his storytelling. - 80
Screen Daily
A fair bit of historical scene-setting at the beginning means that the picture takes a while to hit its stride. But once it does, there is much to enjoy in this big, brawling ruck of an action movie. - 69
IGN
When the film works, it can be very engaging but it is simply too inconsistent. - 58
The A.V. Club
Pine neither convinces as a conflicted peacekeeper nor a resolute resistance fighter. - 50
The Hollywood Reporter
Pine is fully committed to Robert's mission, but the film has a hard time making him a compelling character, even with a wife and daughter on hand to make him relatable. And it takes forever for his military campaign to get rolling. - 50
Variety
Whatever its value as rabble-rousing historical reenactment, Outlaw King never quite compares to the many films it’s so keen to imitate, and in some cases outright quote. - 50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Director David Mackenzie (Pine's collaborator on Hell or High Water) dabbles in some interesting aesthetic experiments – including a doozy of a single-take scene in the film's opening minutes – but the narrative is cut, dried and left to rot under the soggy Scottish skies. - 42
IndieWire
The craft on display is often as undeniable as the cast that Mackenzie has assembled to bring it all to life, but “Outlaw King” is a moribund piece of storytelling. It’s too big to be an intimate portrait of a reluctant leader, and not big enough to effectively contextualize that leader’s role in the war he was born to fight.
