Well Put Together But Full Of Historical Inaccuracies

Rating: 5/10 (7 December 2019)

As the movie opens, young Prince Hal (Timothée Chalamet) - the first son of King Henry IV of England - has left behind royal life and adopted his infamous "wayward" life. But soon thereafter his father's illness and eventual death brings him back to the court and ultimately puts him on the throne as King Henry V, immediately plunged into the complicated politics of the 15th century English court, with a desire to set right some of his father's wrongs, to establish the legitimacy of his reign and to achieve some of what his father had been unable to achieve - primarily to successfully claim the throne of France.
Basically, the movie is well done technically. The sets and costumes give an authetic 15th century atmosphere, and the climactic Battle of Agincourt, in which the English (led by young Henry, by now King) defeated a much larger French army, is extremely well choreographed and it does accurately depict the use of the English longbow, which was in fact a much superior weapon to the cross bow used by the French, the use of which played a key role in the real Battle of Agincourt.) Having said that, the movie is also riddled with historical inaccuracies that are too numerous to recount here. Rather than being based on the historical record, "The King" is largely based on the relevant plays of William Shakespeare, which produces one of the greatest (because it was so central to the story) of the historical inaccuracies - the front and centre presence of Sir John Falstaff - who never existed, but was a fictional chartacter created by The Bard. So, if you're looking for a history lesson, you won't find it here except perhaps in very broad brushstrokes. Nor will you find a recounting of Shakespeare. This is more of a mish mash of some of Shakespeare's work, combined with a bit of history and a lot of historical licence.
It's a tough slog at times to get through. I found it far too long at almost two and a half hours and there were times when it felt as though I could have skipped lengthy parts of this and not really missed very much of consequence. However the performances were good, and while I think it's a bit over-rated, I certainly wouldn't call this a bad movie, especially for those with an interest in the medieval era. (5/10)