Fun historical fiction

Rating: 7/10 (27 May 2020)

The King is inspired by historical events and the works of Shakespeare. A lot of people say that its historically inaccurate and it misrepresents many historical facts.
The thing that struck me while i was watching it was how quickly this movie rushes through the different stages of its story. This is a bit of a double edged sword, because it gives the movie a good tempo, but at the same time i felt like there is so much happening in such a little period of time. I think that it couldve made a great tv show if the writers wanted to really develop their plot and characters.
Personal relationships play a great role in this movie and we are exposed to many acts of bravery, leadership and betrayal. We see the virtue of friendship and duty. There is a lot of cruelty as well.
I didnt have any issues with the inspiration of the film and its choice to pick random events and to give them a spin fitting its trajectory. I really liked Pattinson in the role of the french prince and his accent didnt bother me at all. What i disliked though is how pathetic and unimportant the actual french king was. For a character of such importance, i think his presence felt incredibly marginal.
The movie emphasizes a lot on how brave and honorable young Henry is and how he is ready to sacrifice himself in order to safe his men. Yet at the end we see that being young means being naive most of the time. Henry is questioning his decisions and is struggling to find meaning behind them.
Its a great story of how growing up with more responsibilities than you can take can lead to unwise, spontaneous decisions. We find a lot of Shakespearean traits to the people surrounding the young king as they play their own personal games and pursue their own individual goals.
The sets are great and the productions is wonderful. For the relatively small budget of $23 million the movies looks really convincing and the choreography of the battles is awesome. Im not sure if it was because of the budget or the length, but many important ceremonies and meetings were shortened and felt a bit rushed.
Overall a great medieval tale of kings and battles, but if youre looking for historical accuracy its probably not for you.