This movie has superb camera work, art direction, costumes, battle scenes, yet almost no plot and nearly non-existent dialogue. I wish the writers would just bother to turn the movie into something more exciting. With the underlying story, it wouldn't have been too hard.
That could be okay if there were good performances. However, two hours of watching Chris Pine's terrible acting is literally unbearable. To say he is wooden would be a huge understatement. The look on the guy's face does not change once throughout the movie! It's exactly the same face for talking with his subordinates, his wife, his daughter, for winning and losing battles, for falling in love and parting with his loved ones. Just who decided to cast him as Robert Bruce is beyond me. Stephen Dillane is amazing though as Edward I; Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a great job, too, but somehow seems to be overacting as compared to the underacting protagonist.
Honestly, the best--and splendidly played--role in this film belongs to the beautiful nature of Scotland. That and the great period costumes made the watching almost enjoyable. Such a waste of a good story and great filming effort.
That could be okay if there were good performances. However, two hours of watching Chris Pine's terrible acting is literally unbearable. To say he is wooden would be a huge understatement. The look on the guy's face does not change once throughout the movie! It's exactly the same face for talking with his subordinates, his wife, his daughter, for winning and losing battles, for falling in love and parting with his loved ones. Just who decided to cast him as Robert Bruce is beyond me. Stephen Dillane is amazing though as Edward I; Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a great job, too, but somehow seems to be overacting as compared to the underacting protagonist.
Honestly, the best--and splendidly played--role in this film belongs to the beautiful nature of Scotland. That and the great period costumes made the watching almost enjoyable. Such a waste of a good story and great filming effort.