Firebrand

Alicia Vikander gives a graceful performance and the lavish period production shines, but unfortunately this is more fizzle-out than fire-starter.

It’s that rarest of releases: a picture that would benefit immensely from being far more lurid and overblown. It’s no coincidence that the element that works best -- Law’s gloriously monstrous Henry.

Firebrand exceeds in capturing the way mundanity can slip so easily into terror; how a feast or a jest... can descend into hell at the turn of one man’s emotions.

Catherine is an ethical Machiavel, wrangling the king to noble ends. But the movie is vague about what those are, and oddly brisk about her groundbreaking role as a published woman writer.

Vikander gives her best performance since Ex Machina. She looks naturally so reserved and gentle, but this flawless, serene countenance masks great strength and resolve.

It doesn’t play fast and loose with the facts so much as throw them out the window. This can work, if it’s for a good reason, but this, alas, never seems to find that reason.

It’s a film so desperate to cram everyone and everything into its half-baked world that the result is about as close to nothing as a movie can be. You might say that the sanctity of the realm is looking rather dire.

A drama of palace intrigues and a thriller with the kind of explosions typical of horror films, Firebrand seduces with its impeccable staging...But it is the explosions of Jude Law's Henry...that capture the viewer. [Full review in Spanish]

...although it is curious at times, [Firebrand] becomes insipid, especially as the end approaches, and the political thriller is watered down until nothing remains of it, leaving the plots and intentions half-hearted. [Full review in Spanish]

Although it is a historical film, it also presents itself as an interesting and measured thriller with a magnetic Alicia Vikander. Her interpretation of Katherine Parr is hypnotic, elegant and full of charisma. [Full review in Spanish]