David Mackenzie’s medieval follow-up to the brilliant Hell or High Water, Outlaw King follows Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine), a 14^th century Scottish nobleman who swears fealty to King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) after an eight-year rebellion between the English and Scots. But after witnessing the state of the nation under Edward’s tyrannical rule, Robert decides to crack on with his own rebellious war.

Mackenzie clearly tries to take from Game of Thrones’s sense of brutality, the strategies, the blood, the swearing, and the idea of the ‘rightful king’ to fill the narrative. But Outlaw King doesn’t come close to the series’ darker and sharper edges, nor any of the heart shown in the numerous swords-and-sandals productions that came before it.

Although the battle scenes are expertly executed, they lack any heart

It’s hard to feel much for any of the characters, or their overarching plight for a free Scotland, which subsequently removes any emotion from the various battle scenes (which are otherwise expertly choreographed).

Robert is a nice and likeable revolutionary, but there’s really not much intriguing or all that interesting about him. To make things worse, Pine plays him with the sort of sterility often mistaken for quiet heroism – and tries to balance this by gawping like a befuddled fish when faced with injustice. It’s not his finest two hours.

Outlaw King is a dishonourable effort – not even the five writers in charge could make something that's overly engaging out of the story. Its only achievement appears to be increasing the hype for Game of Thrones season 8.