Mel Gibson’s extremely fictionalized account of William Wallace and the Scottish struggle for independence from English rule is a true Epic in the classic Hollywood sense – Visually stunning, action-packed, and alternately inspiring and sappily cliche.
Taken as a historical recreation, this is an abysmal failure. Taken as a work of fiction, it is a triumph whose charming and numerous strengths overcome its annoying weaknesses.
Weaknesses: The same incredibly gory battle scenes that made me “Oooo!” in amazement and delight as a young lad now make me either cringe slightly in frustration and/or disgust or just get through them by spotting the obvious errors in battlefield placement (the Scottish soldier half-heartedly fighting noone is a personal favorite). In a film like ‘Saving Private Ryan’, similarly disturbing scenes work because they’re SUPPOSED to be disturbing, serving as a reminder of the horrors of a War that too many people have nearly conveniently forgotten. In ‘Braveheart’, they seem obligatory if not glorified, as if Gibson thought of a lot of interestingly gruesome ways for people to get killed and he was going to make d@mn sure he took this opportunity to display them.
The other major complaint is the interaction between Wallace and the Princess of Wales – not because of its obvious historical impossibility, but because it’s so TOTALLY out of the character that Gibson had worked so hard to establish for Wallace.
On the positive side, the acting is almost uniformly excellent, with Gibson’s lead being outdone especially by Patrick McGoohan as King Edward “Longshanks”, and also by Wallace’s three Lieutenants (Most notably Stephen the Irishman in a bit of brilliantly insane comic relief).
The scenery is absolutely breathtaking, the costumes and soundtrack beautiful, and the script is (for the most part) intelligent, inventive, and gripping.
I cried several times watching this movie over the years, and also felt an undeniable surge of adrenaline and exultation. When a movie can produce both effects, you know it’s doing something right.
Grade: A-
2012: It’s only a movie…it’s only a movie… Grade: A
10/3/16: Robert the Bruce also deserves a mention for impressive acting, and Gibson does have *some* moments of brilliance; the feelings and thoughts he conveys without words after meeting the Bruce on the battlefield are impressive and undeniable. Grade: A