Outlaw King
Netflix | Release Date: November 9, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
59
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 38 Critic Reviews
Positive:
18
Mixed:
18
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattSep 7, 2018
Mackenzie falls a little too in love with his battle scenes; by the fourth clash of blood and swords it all starts to feel like déjà vu, with different horses. At nearly two and a half hours, there’s clearly room to trim.... But he also films it beautifully in the natural light of candles, torches, and overcast skies, and there’s a solidness to the old-fashioned conventions of his storytelling. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNov 9, 2018
Outlaw King has a wild card — a really wild card — in Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Lord of Douglas, whose family the English humiliated. He’s so wild that as soon as he reconquers his castle, he burns it to the ground for spite. In battle, he screams in exaltation, and just when you wonder how he’ll top that, he screams again, even louder, now drenched — sopped — in gore. That you won’t get to see that in IMAX is a war crime. Read full review
80
CineVueChristopher MachellNov 8, 2018
Outlaw King is proof positive that Pine is one of the most underestimated actors in modern cinema. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranNov 8, 2018
Inevitably violent (though a disemboweling still seems excessive), as edited by Jake Roberts Outlaw King now moves along at a satisfyingly brisk pace. While we likely have not seen the end of Robert the Bruce on film, this for sure is a worthy addition to the canon. Read full review
80
The TelegraphRobbie CollinNov 8, 2018
This is an exultantly old-school blood-and-thunder retelling of the rise of Robert the Bruce. Read full review
80
EmpireHelen O'HaraNov 5, 2018
Pine supplies gravitas in the lead, but he’s almost a lone voice of moderation. Bloody and brash and as subtle as a trebuchet, this is gleefully entertaining — unless you’re English, anyway. Read full review
80
Screen DailyWendy IdeSep 7, 2018
A fair bit of historical scene-setting at the beginning means that the picture takes a while to hit its stride. But once it does, there is much to enjoy in this big, brawling ruck of an action movie. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerNov 7, 2018
Outlaw King gets far more right than it ever gets wrong. Fourteenth century Scotland wasn't kilts and Pictish face-paint: It was a Late Middle Ages nation, with elaborate regal clothing at court, elaborate cravings and furniture, a distinct culture – and mud and blood and violence. Read full review
78
The VergeTasha RobinsonSep 10, 2018
Outlaw King has plenty of the right pieces in play to make this kind of personally enriched story possible, but compared to Mackenzie’s best work, it’s plodding and artless. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliNov 9, 2018
With the exception of a few slow spots, Outlaw King flows briskly. It’s one of the better “Netflix originals” the service has provided and worth the expense of two hours. Read full review
75
The AtlanticDavid SimsNov 9, 2018
The film may be too much of a bloody slog for some; others will be on board for every gruesome minute like I was. Read full review
75
The PlaylistOliver LytteltonNov 5, 2018
Those looking for a substantial meal or an Oscar contender are probably going to be left lacking. But so long as you’re prepared for some rousing medieval action and not all that much more, Mackenzie proves here he can work on a significant canvas with a film that must rank as one of Netflix’s more satisfying bigger-budget ventures to date. Read full review
70
Film Journal InternationalGary M. KramerNov 8, 2018
The biggest flaw in Mackenzie’s film is that it is so focused on plot and action, there is all too little emotion, save that surge of rage for (or in) battle. Read full review
70
Rolling StoneDavid FearNov 8, 2018
Outlaw King does stumble. Its tension-and-release game is not exactly tight, and its dramatic rhythms have a way of losing the beat. Read full review
70
The New YorkerAnthony LaneNov 5, 2018
Among the Scots, look out for James Douglas (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), the bellow of whose triumphal rage is at once thrilling and scarcely human. For a few seconds, we forget that we are watching a well-mounted period drama about a minor regional conflict; a blood-thirst as basic as this feels horribly timeless. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangSep 14, 2018
Over the course of a generous 137-minute running time, Mackenzie evinces a patience in his own storytelling that only occasionally tests yours. There are excesses and longueurs, to be sure, but crucially, the tone of the piece never feels monotonous. Read full review
69
IGNJim VejvodaSep 7, 2018
When the film works, it can be very engaging but it is simply too inconsistent. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTom RussoNov 7, 2018
The particulars are often fascinating, but all the solemnity does work against a more rousing finish. The Netflix-distributed feature might equal “Braveheart” (1995) in its gritty authenticity, but that standard-setter’s memorably transportive quality was ultimately a far battle cry from this. Read full review
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