"Outlaw King follows Robert the Bruce trying to unite the clans of Scotland under one crown - his crown - to fight against the English rule and occupation of Scotland.
As a pieces it's difficult to dissect. Certainly there are good performances (most notably the wonderfully feral Douglas) littered within more flat results, such as the titular king himself, but overall for a period piece relying so crucially on stellar acting to drive us into the world it presents there is a failure more disappointing than annoying.
It's hard to point a finger at one particular negativer that brings everything down, more every part be it script, direction, cinematography, etc all are done to an acceptable but never brilliant level that leaves the film feeling hollow and incomplete, almost as if it were a lengthy pilot for a show never to be aired.
Perhaps the script is the weakest link in an already fragile chain; the second act feels doughy and bloated with sub plots that never really conclude satisfactorily despite the attempted efforts of all involved.
The scenes of brutality, in particular a harrowing hanging and gutting, are sparse but effective and probably the best moments in capturing the btual essence of what was a graphically barbaric time in our history"
- 5/10
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