The King (2019)

[Eric Duncan]

 

 

[filmlover]

I enjoyed this. Shakespeare fanatics will probably think little of this for how it reinvents his writing into something more contemporary-leaning with none of his dialogue, and everything up until Henry V becomes king is a bit slow, but I found this to be an engaging and sumptuously made historical action drama. Timothee Chalamet continues to impress: he's not as masterful here as he was in Call Me by Your Name, but he proves himself a commanding presence and handles the British accent better than I expected. Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris are the only other actors in this that have much in the way of screen time (Ben Mendelsohn basically amounts to a cameo while Thomasin McKenzie is in this for literally 2 minutes), but Robert Pattinson deserves recognition for delivering an over the top performance that's almost Sacha Baron Cohen-esque (where was this dude during the Edward Cullen years?). Loved the final battle, a muddy, bloody attack that pulls no punches in its carnage. Give this a spin if a historical epic is what you're seeking on a night in. B

[nghtvsn]

THE KING 

 

What appealed to me most is the history angle. I'm a sucker for historical films especially stuff dealing with knights, kings, crusades, etc. I thought the film captured the look and feel of that medieval time period. I liked the costume and production of the film. Getting authentic looking armor pieces and knights on horseback, longbowmen and the crossbows. That was all entertaining. As far as the acting, I was pleased with that and every kept me quite engaged despite it's long running time. Didn't really know how things were going to end at that battle until I heard the name of the area. I thought Chalamet was fantastic and he's always compelling to watch in whatever role. Edgerton was good in his role as advisor/war leader. I wasn't a big fan of Pattinson's french english accent. He was a bit distracting. Overall, it was worth a watch. 

 

Grade - B