Just watched Outlaw King, the Netflix produced film about Robert the Bruce.
Chris Pine does a good job in the role of Robert the Bruce, a character light years away from his previous well known portrayal of James T. Kirk. There is a lot more nuance and subtlety here.
The opening sequence of Outlaw King is an object lesson in effective directing. The single, unbroken shot crams a hell of a lot into about 10 minutes but paces it so that you aren't buried under events. From Robert and some of the other Scottish lords pragmatically swearing allegiance to Edward I, the sparring session between Robert and the Crown Prince and unleashing the infamous trebuchet War Wolf against what I'm pretty certain was Stirling Castle the sequence screams that while the film was made for Netflix this is not going to be a production that is small in scope.
It's clear from the start that the Bruce is struggling between keeping to his oath of allegiance and following his personal sense of honour, something that comes to a head following the execution of William Wallace leading to a failed attempt to ally with a rival to the Scottish throne ending up with him being forced to kill him.
The combat scenes that follow through the film are gritty and don't pull any punches when it comes to the kinds of wounds you could inflict on someone with the weapons available in the 14th century especially when they are wielded by the obligatory screaming celtic nutter character. In another scene, the execution of one of Robert's brothers was heavily toned down compared to the historical accounts of the time but still manages to show the horror of being hung and drawn.
There are the inevitable comparisons between this film and the godawful ranting mess that was Braveheart. But while there are some parts of the film that don't feel particularly fleshed out such as Robert's quest to rescue his wife and daughter, the only way you could have a comprehensive biopic of Robert the Bruce would be to write a TV series. Personally I'd say that Outlaw King is the better film of the two. While there are some mistakes it's certainly the more historically accurate. For one thing, William Wallace was never called Braveheart. That title was given to Robert the Bruce after his death as he had given instructions that his heart was to be removed and buried in Scotland.
Overall it's certainly worth a look
