While this does not live up to _Braveheart_, I enjoyed the film for what it was, the story of a lesser known warrior and king who led his people to their freedom.

As a previous poster mentioned, the biggest problem I have with the film is the fighting sequences which go on a bit too long. I get it, this is what these guys did a thousand years ago. They fought each other over land, over followers, and over riches. Come to think of it, not much has changed in a millennium since Robert the Bruce reigned.

I'm no expert on Scottish vs. British vs. Irish accents, but from my uneducated perspective I thought there were all done well. Pine did well in the lead role and it was good to see relationships with his brethren change and adapt throughout the film. The romance was a little too fleeting for me to truly care about it, but I appreciated the strength and loyalty that Elizabeth showed to her husband in the face of unspeakable treatment by her own people. The one spot where I wish we had seen more character development was with Aymer de Valence. There was a glimmer of it when [spoiler]King Edward died[/spoiler], but alas it was not to last.

The one thing this film really accomplished for me is to pique my interest in this period of history. I didn't really know the name Robert the Bruce before this, but have already started poking around on Wikipedia and the local library looking for additional reading about him.

Good film if you enjoy the historical epics, though this one just scratches the surface of Bruce's story.

By and large, when there's no battle taking place, Outlaw King is not a rousing success, but those fight scenes are spectacular, and recurring.

_Final rating:★★★ - I liked it. Would personally recommend you give it a go._

***A superior and realistic medieval film***

“Outlaw King” (2018) is the sequel to the events shown in “Braveheart” (1995). The story begins in 1304 during the last year of William Wallace’s life. After Wallace is drawn-and-quartered, Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) takes up the torch for Scotland’s war of independence over England. Disregarding the excellent epilogue, the movie ends with the Battle of Loudoun Hill in 1307 where Robert the Bruce takes on a 3000-man English force with only 600 Scots.

"Outlaw King" is actually better than the overrated “Braveheart”: Chris Pine is an all-around superior protagonist to Gibson; Florence Pugh is more beautiful compared to Sophie Marceau (or Catherine McCormack) in a petite, curvy way; not to mention she’s a more interesting character; the locations are better (even though the locations in "Braveheart" are excellent); the music edges out the score to "Braveheart"; the movie's more streamlined and consistent; and the film's all-around more compelling and realistic.

True, "Outlaw King" doesn't top Patrick McGoohan's delightfully diabolic portrayal of the pompous Longshanks nor does it have the superb defenestration sequence. But it lacks the sluggish start of "Braveheart" (the opening 25 minutes); the eye-rolling betrayal scene; the equally eye-rolling episode where Wallace rides into a noble's bed chamber on a freakin' horse and easily escapes (Why Sure!); and, lastly, the overlong and dull execution sequence in “Braveheart” wherein the Christ symbolism is laid on too thick.

It’s also more historically accurate in that it doesn't have the Scots wearing kilts or painting their faces, nor does it wrongly have Robert the Bruce betraying Wallace, which never happened (although he initially disowned him publicly, obviously for political reasons, he secretly supported his war effort and openly admitted it later).

While “Outlaw King” is more historically accurate, it has its own less significant inaccuracies: Elizabeth & Majorie actually escaped Kildrummy Castle, along with Robert’s sisters, but were found by Edward’s men shortly later; Edward II (Billy Howle) wasn't even at the Battle of Loudoun Hill so, naturally, the duel with Edward II never happened; actually, Edward I (Stephen Dillane) was not yet dead when this battle was fought in 1307 so his son was not yet crowned; Queen Elizabeth wasn't put in a cage, but Robert’s sister was; the English were already familiar with the Scottish hedgehog formation by the time of Loudoun Hill and, in fact, destroyed this formation with arrows nine years earlier at Falkirk; Elizabeth was held in captivity for over seven years before Robert could negotiate her return in 1314 after his great victory at the Battle of Bannockburn (the movie makes it seem much shorter).

Closing word: If you like realistic medieval flicks like the excellent “Tristan + Isolde” (2006) be sure to check out “Outlaw King.”

The film runs 2 hours, 1 minute and was shot mostly in Scotland, but also England. Whilst this is a Netflix movie, it cost a whopping $120 million and looks it.

GRADE: B+/A-