Outlaw King - upcoming Netflix movie on Robert the Bruce

[Lord Raglan]

Fell asleep halfway through, can't say the half I watched rocked my world.

[Coenus Scaldingus]

Well, if it wasn't to somebody's liking, perhaps better luck next year when apparently another movie on Robert is due to be released: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8000908/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
When it rains, it pours...

Thought Outlaw King was rather good, but sadly not great. Very glad to see a movie set in medieval times where colour is actually present; with so many other series and films choosing to barely bother with decent costumes and just up the grey scale to make it look like the olden days. Historical accuracy of armour was fairly acceptable to Hollywood standards too. What mainly let it down was simply the story. That a complex tale has to be simplified to fit a two-hour runtime is unavoidable, but for my money I'd rather have spent most of the time used for bloody fights (of which there is a lot: both fighting and blood) on exploring the rich tapestry of competing loyalties, personal motivations and relations. It was interesting that they focussed on the middle period, but although hints to the earlier history existed (e.g. they uttered the name "Balliol" once or twice in one scene), and leaving much out is probably preferable to endless, obvious exposition, it did feel rather empty afterwards. Perhaps I have gotten too accustomed to series, where 6-10 hours are available to tell a story rather than 2.

And yes, the end of the final battle was just painful to watch. Pointless, useless, needless. Made no sense in the precise context that they had built up in the preceding hour and a half.

Still, it's easier to pinpoint the wrongs than the rights. It was by no means bad. As these types of historical dramas go, it was certainly among the better ones - but that says as much about it as its competitors. I'd certainly recommend giving it a watch, and while I won't expect to watch it again any time soon, it was promising enough to make me look forward to further offerings of this sort from Netflix.

[FramFramson]

A Scottish wargamer friend of mine commented that the scene at the beginning where Edward refuses to accept the surrender of Stirling Castle, because he's just built a new trebuchet and hasn't had a chance to fire it yet, is "one of the most 'gamer' moments ever committed to film". 

[Cubs]

Well, if it wasn't to somebody's liking, perhaps better luck next year when apparently another movie on Robert is due to be released: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8000908/?ref_=tt_trv_trv
When it rains, it pours...

The guy playing Robert the Bruce is Angus Macfadyen the same guy who played him in Braveheart! He's one of those actors I always enjoy watching and he crops up in TV programmes from time to time, forcing me to point at the screen and say, "Hey, it's him, the guy who played Robert the Bruce in …" etc .. etc

[FramFramson]

Robert the Bruce and Edward are really the only two characters I still like from the horror of Braveheart.

[Cubs]

Robert the Bruce and Edward are really the only two characters I still like from the horror of Braveheart.

What's not to love about old mad-eyes Patrick McGoohan?

I've just finished watching the Netflix movie tonight. Yeah, I agree with what everyone has said really - it was a fun romp and did the best it could do with what it had, but it didn't blow my skirt up. The bit at the end was a sad nonsense that I could have done without, but all in all a decent crack at the story … and yes, an 8hr mini-series would have told the story so much better.

Always nice to see the same Scottish actors being trotted out for Hollywood movies and remarking on how much they've aged! ("I'll no forget you Angus.") I was quite impressed with Tony Curran's stab at not just a Scots accent (fairly easy, him being Scottish and all) but actually a Long Isles accent with a dash of Scandinavian. I haven't a clue what a Norse-Gael accent might sound like nor how accurate his was, but hats off to the guy for reaching for authenticity when I'm sure no-one would have argued against him playing it safe with his native accent.

I'm not sure my missus would put up with me scratching at her with a bit of thistle in bed though. I'm fairly sure she'd react in a way that would result in it being surgically removed from one of my more tender areas.

[Captain Blood]

I thought the same about Tony Curran. I'm used to seeing him under terrible wig and contact lenses as pantomime alien baddie, Daytak Tar, in camp SyFy romp, Defiance. His effort at a Western Isles Gaelic lilt in Outlaw King was noted and appreciated. Although to be fair, Chris Pine's Scottish accent was perfectly fair.

You're right about the revolving door of Scottish character actors... Angus MacFadyen has spent the last several years chewing the scenery as a (distinctly unhistorical take on) Major Robert Rogers in AWI spy potboiler 'Turn' (despite the fact the Rogers was of Irish parentage... ) Basically portrayed as a reckless, amoral psychopath. Be interesting to see if he's subtler as Robert Bruce.

[grant]

Thought it was alright. Nothing spectacular.

[Andrew_McGuire]

A Scottish wargamer friend of mine commented that the scene at the beginning where Edward refuses to accept the surrender of Stirling Castle, because he's just built a new trebuchet and hasn't had a chance to fire it yet, is "one of the most 'gamer' moments ever committed to film". 

Can't blame him, really. Can you think of all the effort that must have gone into painting and weathering it? And its stat line must have warranted a couple of rolls, at least.

P.S. I see it was called Warwolf. Today it would probably be Brexit, as in, "You build a castle, and this Brexit."

[Cubs]

Can't blame him, really. Can you think of all the effort that must have gone into painting and weathering it? And its stat line must have warranted a couple of rolls, at least..

You roll a double 1 - critical fail, the arm of the siege engine breaks under the strain and shatters, throwing shards of splintered wood outwards. The crew is killed instantly and anyone within a 6" radius suffers a S4 hit with no armour saving throw on a roll of 4,5 or 6.

[Andrew_McGuire]

You reckon without the Hammer of the Scots rule: "In the event of the siege engine malfunctioning or breaking due to poor dice (sabotage / wear and tear / shoddy workmanship / drunken crew) the Hammer may be deployed, instantly restoring the engine to fully functioning condition, replacing the crew with better trained and motivated specialists, and allowing repeated rerolls until a critical hit is attained. Any surviving members of garrison take immediate morale test with -6 modifier".

[Cubs]

Dammit, always with the special rules.

[Dr. Zombie]

I liked it.

One thing in paticular that always bugs me with "Knightly movies" is that armour is always just for show. But in this movie you actually see several blows glancing of armour.

[RAD]

I enjoyed the movie and thought it well acted and realistic even though i'm no specialist. And it made me want those claymore castings scots i started to collect some years ago with a project in mind, only to discover those minis had disappeared from their site! What happened to the range? Are they gone forever? Moved to another of Paul Hicks's company?

[Von Stroheim]

Antidiluvian Miniatures sell the Claymore Castings Scots

https://antediluvianminiatures.wordpress.com/2018/02/07/shop-historical-range/