You take the wins with the losses.

Rating: 7/10 (22 March 2020)

The King is based on plays written by William Shakespeare "Henriad", which were based on actual events. The movie has taken some liberty to change things here and there to move the story along, most notably the character of Sir Falstaff, King Henry's most loyal confidante in the movie but was disregarded as a fool and jester with no clear ending in the play (boo! loved the right knee bit.) The haircut is real, the immediate marriage to Princess Catherine isn't (took five years later, lasted only five months, reuniting when he was on his deathbed.) All the politicizing must have been real, as you know one thing humans are consistent with is greed.
Timothee Chalamet proved he has already earned his stripes tackling this role with ease, a testament to the great actor he's slowly becoming. He has proven 'Call Me By Your Name' was not a fluke and that he can go as far back as the 1400s to add a scrawny yet authoritative King Henry to his Filmography. Robert Pattinson was larger than life, as was intentioned by the writer but there were moments where he came off as trying too hard. But the commitment was there to see the character through and he deserves praise for that. Note that Chalamet whose father is French plays an English king while Pattinson who is English plays a French prince. Lilly Rose-Depp, Chalamet's on and offscreen partner was only in the movie for a short time but managed to make her impact. Dean Chapman (who we adored in Game of Thrones, right?) was cast again as a prince eager to prove his claim to the throne.
The set design paled in comparison to big-budgeted films but it's good enough if we're not being too picky. That drone shot mirroring Jon Snow gasping for air in the Battle of the Bastards, they knew would elicit comparison which they didn't seem to mind. As far as historical war movie goes, this isn't bad, but it isn't the most memorable. There have been many Shakespeare adaptations before and there will be many more to come. Unfortunately, this might get lost in the shuffle just as Prince Dauphine did in the battle of Agincourt.