The King Movie Review

A Good Movie But Long

I watched the movie, The King, on Netflix the other night and I have to say, it's pretty good. I will warn you though it is a bit long coming in at a 140 minute runtime, but the pacing is good for the most part.

The King follows the early years of King Henry V of England.

I know it's a pretty short synopsis, but hey, it's accurate. The film is based off of Shakespeare's plays on Henry V. If you're a longtime reader of this blog you might have read my feeling about Shakespeare once or twice. Setting those feelings aside, and looking at this as a historical film, it does a pretty good job. Last year I reviewed Outlaw King, another Netflix historical film, and I'm happy to see Netflix taking better care of history than most of Hollywood. There are a plethora of stories to tell, and I'm ecstatic to see historical films make a resurgence! 

I will admit, I'm not sure of the historical accuracy of this film, as it's not a typical period I read about. Though in combat scenes I was surprised to see those fighting use other weapons besides swords. There were pole arms, war hammers, and something else I'm probably missing, but it was nice to see they put in the effort to diversify the weaponry for the battle.

The actor who plays King Henry V, Timothée Chalamet did a fanatic job in the film! His character evolves in a natural sort of way which I really appreciate! His attitudes seem genuine and lifelike. The rest of the cast did a fine job as well.

They do something interesting with the music for the film. It's not overplayed. Don't get me wrong, the music is there, but it doesn't overshadow the scene. They filmmakers let the drama work itself out, and everything blends so well together.

One thing I was concerned about was the pacing for a 2 hour 20 minute historical drama, but for the most part the film keeps a pretty good beat. You will feel the time of the film, but it's not as annoying as you'd think, but it's still present.

Would I recommend seeing, The King? Yes, yes I would. The drama is well done, and the pacing is surprisingly good. The acting is overall enjoyable, and I'm a sucker for historical films! I'm excited to see what Netflix does next. If you're looking for a film to watch one night, I do recommend checking out, The King.

final score: 4/5