So last week, as me and my friend couldn't find anything better to see, we decided to watch Netflix's movie 'The King' from 2019. We decided to give it a chance, even though I wasn't that excited about watching a film that had to do with this particular genre.
Indeed, even though I do tend to watch - and even study - 'historical' stuff, I'm not interested in medieval history. There's not that much that you can learn from the era and that time in history wasn't exactly enlightening or uplifting when it comes to us as human beings.
Nevertheless, as we decided to give the film about Henry V of England a chance, we thought that it would be worth our time. There was a chance that the movie would hold our attention (71% fresh at Rottentomatoes.com) and that perhaps it wouldn't be 'that' violent.
So having now seen the film, I think it can be said that 'The King' wasn't that bad of a movie experience. It turned out that this was a somewhat well made and an entertaining movie, even though there are some pretty obvious problems too that need to be addressed.
Premise-wise, the story is basically about Hal, Prince of Wales (played by Timothée Chalamet), who as a royalty and an apparent heir to the throne, doesn't want power. He's a royalty who thinks that wars are wrong and that there's no point in shedding blood for no reason at all.
Indeed, as his father is dying, instead of preparing to become the next king as the oldest son to fight wars, he's more than happy to let his younger brother to succeed his father. It's up to his brother to fight those future battles once their father passes away.
Yet, in the story, it doesn't take long before things change, as his inexperienced brother manages to get himself killed in a pointless battle. This leads to Hal changing his mind and becoming the king, which leads him to a difficult journey (involving war with France).
So when it comes to 'The King's' quality, one of the best thing about the films has to do with its production values. There's no question that for a Netflix movie - that hasn't been known for its big budgets - this movie clearly looks good when it comes to its overall production.
Indeed, as I watched the movie with my friend, we couldn't help but notice that everything in the film looked top notch. The sets looked believable, the battle scenes were well executed (they were pretty realistic) and you simply couldn't help but to stare at the screen.
Acting-wise, it has to be also said that the film did also a really good job. All the main roles were well acted, including Chalamet in the main role, Joel Edgerton as Falstaff, Robert Pattinson as the French prince (he was totally great) and Sean Harris as Hal's advisor.
At the same time, when it comes to the story of the movie, there are some obvious problems here that can't be ignored. The biggest issue by far has to do with its screenplay, which - as unfortunate as it was - wasn't particularly well written or well structured.
By that I mean is that when it comes to the motivations and the consistency of Hal's character in the first third of the movie, they left a lot to be desired. The movie does an awful job explaining why Hal decided to invade France after being shown as a 'dove'.
Indeed, when he makes that admittedly brave personal sacrifice in the first 15 minutes of the film (no spoilers), there's really no way the audience is going to buy him as a warmonger after that. It's such a strong character defining moment that defines the rest of the film.
So not surprisingly, even though the movie does give some external reasons for him changing his mind and attacking France, they don't make enough sense. They don't feel natural or organic, which made the story after that feel a bit forced and questionable.
In that sense, when it comes to Netflix's 'The King' as a whole, I think it's pretty safe to say that even though this film wasn't by no means terrible, it wasn't a great one either. It's pretty clear that there were some major character arc issues in the story that hurt it.
After all, when you have a protagonist that isn't consistent and changes based on what the structure demands, that's not a good thing. It really makes the story less immersive and pulls you out of the movie, even when those other aspects in the film work.
In that sense, when it all is said and done, whether one is going to enjoy watching 'The King' isn't really that simple and easy to determine. It really depends on what your preferences are and how much you're going to pay attention to the film and its character arcs.
After all, if you manage to get past the first 30-40 minutes of the story that are inconsistent and forced, this might be a movie a for you. In that case you might be entertained by the film and might appreciate it quite a bit (I was more in this camp).
On the other hand, if you set the bar too high and think that 'The King' is historically accurate and has solid character arcs, this might not be a film a for you. In that case, you'll likely be disappointed and might think that the movie as a whole just wasn't that believable or entertaining.
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