alex-p-williams Reviews

Love, Death & Robots: Fish Night (2019) Season 1, Episode 12

Desert hallucination?

[6/10 · 8 April 2020]

Fantastic visuals but the story and characters held it back. Were the visuals hallucinations of the older man or real? Was the younger man a figment of the old guys imagination? Why didn't the bottle break on the rock? So many unclear plot holes and the story isn't enough to provoke your own ideas. The writing was bland, and the characters were nothing special.

Why did the young man suddenly get hyper out of nowhere and dive into the scene? Just seems it happened for him to get eaten by the shark, and for it to end. Is there a bigger message or nah? Could have been so much better, promising idea for an adaptation.

Outlaw King (2018)

Deserves greater praise

[9/10 · 22 January 2019]

Much criticism of this film points at the 'cramming' of a good chunk of 3 years in The Wars of Scottish Independence, into a film less than 2 hours long. The film starts off in 1304 with the siege of Stirling Castle, which features the spectacular tracking shots that help define the exquisite use of cinematography throughout the films duration. Is it crammed? To an extent yes, but it is a film, and a historical one that requires prior knowledge; as a result, viewers are either gripped, in the story or emotionally tied to the characters, or not. The film does take certain liberties with historical accuracy, namely certain events either merged together or moved around on the timeline - all in aid of dramatic effect. Nonetheless this does not shadow the realism that does exist, especially in terms of the savagery of warfare and intrigue. As well as the superb set pieces and costume designs that accompany the productions heavy attention to detail.

Although it is understandable how many get lost within the story, it skips much character building and connections between each fighting scene, in sacrifice for fitting in several important confrontations, especially the end pitched Battle of Loudoun Hill - in which Bruce achieves his astonishing victory. In this case, perhaps a mini-series or a two-parter would have quelled these disappointments. But perhaps not have matched the explosive, intense, almost breath-taking at times, nature of this film.

Overall Outlaw King is a fine addition to the family of historical films, and perhaps one the best medieval ones yet. It should be taken for what it is, not what it could have been; a quick, brief search on Wikipedia would work a treat for anyone looking to get a better estimation of this film. 9/10.