The King (2019)

Movie Name/Year: The King (2019)

Genre: Biography, Drama, History

Length: 140 minutes

Rating: R

Production/Distribution: Netflix, Plan B Entertainment, Porchlight Films, Blue-Tongue Films, Pioneer Stilking Films, Yoki

Director: David Michôd

Writers: David Michôd, Joel Edgerton

Actors: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Ben Mendelsohn, Sean Harris, Robert Pattinson, Lily-Rose Depp, Dean-Charles Chapman, Andrew Havill, Thomasin McKenzie, Steven Elder, Edward Ashley, Stephen Fewell, Tom Lawrence, Ivan Kaye, Philip Rosch, Lucas Hansen, Tara Fitzgerald

Blurb from IMDb: Hal, wayward prince and heir to the English throne, is crowned King Henry V after his tyrannical father dies. Now the young king must navigate palace politics, the war his father left behind, and the emotional strings of his past life.

Cat’s Point of View:

I feel I must admit upfront that Shakespeare’s play of Henry V is not one that I’m well versed in. I do, however, generally remember the bullet points about the period and events that lend The King its setting and story. This is my disclaimer that I didn’t factor a comparison to such in my opinion of this movie.

That being said, let’s forge ahead.

The King was solid and generally watchable. I did find it a little on the slow side, though. It’s possible that the pacing was set in that manner to give certain points more weight, but it resulted in a film stretching over two hours. I’m not opposed to long movies. Braveheart (1995) is one of my favorite movies of all time, after all, and it is nearly 3 hours long. There are key differences between the two that impacted how I resonated with the film. Braveheart’s memorable score and its pacing helped the time fly just as much as the engaging story. The King’s soundtrack wasn’t as memorable in the background of this slower-paced endeavor.

All-around, the cast’s performances were generally on-point. I have no complaints there. Scenes flowed smoothly, even if it did feel like molasses at times. I also have great respect for the battle scenes that were created for the film.

The King is a good movie for its genre. I will likely watch it at least once more. I just doubt that I would be interested in any more than that. Even so, I wouldn’t hesitate to give it a recommendation to anyone that wouldn’t be put off by the length. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 71%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 85%

Metascore – 61%

Metacritic User Score –  7.9/10

IMDB Score – 7.3/10

CinemaScore – None

Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5

  

Movie Trailer: