“A king has no friends. Only followers and foe.”
The King tells the story of Henry V and his rise to power during England’s Hundred Years War. Henry V, who never wanted such prestigious power, must take up the thrown and bring peace to England. At least, that’s what he plans to do. With muddy battle scenes in tow, The King is a watered down version of various Game of Thrones episodes, and fails to be as entertaining as other notable films set during this period.
I’ll be frank, The King wishes it was Game of Thrones. From the music, to the shot for shot rip-off of the Battle of the Bastards episode, it’s blatantly apparent at how unoriginal The King is. With soldiers flailing in the mud, and knife wounds right through the chest plate, the film tries to make up for its lack of interesting narrative through action. Who can blame them when The King’s story is dry. Incredibly dry. The first hour of the film could be cut, and most likely, would be more engaging because of it. However, it holds firm on the “origin story” idea, thus, the need for portraying Henry V as a troubled youth whose father and he can never see eye to eye on the issues that plague England.
Timothée Chalamet’s performance of said ruler is standard for the young actor — great acting through and through. Although his scenes may come off as overacting, I would never say his performance of Henry V is bad. In fact, Chalamet is the one redeeming quality The King has. The other actors, including Robert Pattinson, may have their 10 second of solid acting, but often come off as bland and unintimidating.
The King thinks too much of itself as it can’t hold a candle to the gripping drama of other historical films. Taking almost scene for scene rip-offs of Game of Thrones — and The Favourite— it looks like a film that couldn’t be creative in its own right. The King prides itself on telling a grand story, but in reality, is no more than another empty film.
The King
Directed by: David Michôd
Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Thomasin McKenzie, Ben Mendelsohn, and Robert Pattinson
Rating:
Little Movie Reviews 
It was bland enough that I fell asleep for a bit, and then wasn’t motivated to skip back and see what I missed.
I liked the performances better than you did, though, (Robert Pattenson, though, not so much) so I didn’t find it a total waste of time.
Yeah, I struggled to get through it because it was quite a bore. I’m glad you liked the performances.