David Mackenzie is embracing his Scottish roots to deliver the gut-wrenching historical drama promised, just a little shorter than advertised. Of “Starred Up” and “Hell or High Water” fame, Mackenzie teams up once again with Chris Pine (“Star Trek,” “A Wrinkle in Time”) for the Netflix original “Outlaw King.”
Shortly into the film’s grand tour of the festival circuit, the reviews were already coming back a little…mixed. 137 minutes is a lot to sit through, especially for a period piece. Luckily, it looks like Mackenzie handled constructive criticism pretty well. By the time the director reemerged from the editing room and “Outlaw King” was about to hit the London Film Festival, 22 minutes had been shaved off, hopefully leading to a new and improved film.
Pine is lending his big-name to the movie, starring as the titular outlaw king of Scotland Robert de Brus. Reawaken your “Braveheart” love of the kilt-wearing underdogs and brush up on your Scottish history, because “Outlaw King” throws you right back into 14th century Scotland and their age-old conflict with the colonizing English. Unfortunately, the only glimpse of Mel Gibson’s character we will see in this movie is his head on a stick, but Pine is more than ready to step up and fill the Scottish hero shoes (with the accent to match).
Starring as the king’s second-in-command is Aaron Taylor-Johnson, best known for his role in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” but also has some historical experience in 2012’s “Anna Karenina,” which turned a few heads in its awards season (true, imperial Russia isn’t exactly medieval Scotland, but it got to count for something). Sam Spruell will also join the cast, along with Tony Curran, Stephen Dillane, James Cosmo, and Billy Howle as the villainous Prince Edward II. Luckily, Florence Pugh will be breaking up that sausage fest by playing Robert’s second wife Elizabeth de Burgh (because, you know, minorities existed in medieval Europe too).
“Outlaw King” will be out November 9th on Netflix. Here’s the official synopsis:
“Outlaw King,” tells the untold, true story of Robert the Bruce who transforms from defeated nobleman to outlaw hero during the oppressive occupation of medieval Scotland by Edward I of England. Despite grave consequences, Robert seizes the Scottish crown and rallies an impassioned group of men to fight back against the mighty army of the tyrannical King and his volatile son, the Prince of Wales. Filmed in Scotland, “Outlaw King” reunites director David Mackenzie (“Hell or High Water”) with star Chris Pine alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh and Billy Howle.