Red, White & Royal Blue | Film Review

I first heard that this movie was coming out after I bought the book it's based on. I didn't love the book, and ended up not finishing it. But I always loved the story's premise, so I wanted to see if I'd enjoy it more in movie format.

When the first son of the US, Alex Claremont-Diaz (Taylor Zakhar Perez) falls in love with the Prince Henry of England (Nicholas Galitzine), the two must keep their relationship a secret from the outside world.

I really liked this movie! I liked it a lot more than I initially thought I would.

Alex and Henry work really well together. The characters and the actors have great chemistry and make the relationship, and everything leading up to it, feel really believable.

The film is funnier than I expected. Most of the humour comes from Alex who is a great, likeable, charismatic character. While we have to warm up to Henry a bit, Alex is really endearing from the very beginning.

One of my problems with 'enemies-to-lovers' stories is how developed the 'enemies' part is, and how long it lasts. Of this two hour movie, the characters were getting over their enemy storyline at about 17 minutes in. I definitely would have elongated this a bit so it could be fleshed out more.

The film felt a bit rushed in places. There's no build-up to anything, and events just happen. I think it could have done with being able to breathe a bit more, even if that means that it ended up a bit longer than it is. I didn't have enough time with certain characters and would have liked to see more of everyone involved.

But having said this, the third-act conflict was greatly paced and really realistic. It made me realise just how much I cared about the characters.

Overall, this was adorable. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would and would definitely recommend it.

6.5/10