134 of 1001 Movies: Braveheart (1995)

Long before the likes of Apocolypto and The Passion of the Christ, was Braveheart. Not only did he star in Braveheart, but he directed the film, which would go on to win five academy awards. In the line of his other movies it seems to depict much of the same thing. A strong male lead who is out to free to his people. With a cast that lets mainly Mel Gibson shine, it is a well built movie that will be for those who enjoy a good empowering man movie.

After William Wallace has his newly bride executed by the English he begins to lead an uprising against Edward Longshanks, who rules Scotland with an iron fist. Not only does he invade villages to rule, but he allows his soldiers to take women from their husbands in the places they are stationed. William already knows the price paid to try to free their country, and he hasn't forgotten the death of his father and brother.  During his conquests he makes unlikely allies and finds unknown enemies.



Braveheart is made to be epic, and it succeeds for the most part. I can't help but think that The Patriot was redoing of this story except set in a different time.  There is something about Braveheart though that captures you as you're watching. It may be that you just really dislike the bad guys, or you find something about William that you like, or want to be. To be honest, probably very few people would stick to their guns all the way as he did.

What the movie does that help is give you a lot of death scenes in the first hour, so we already feel pretty heavily for William Wallace and his losses. So when he goes into battle you already have plenty to dislike the guy he is going after over. I also liked the women's roles in this movie. They could have easily been more one dimensional, but I think it portrayed the hardship of being a woman, particularly during this time, but they never seemed weak. The only thing is Mel Gibson is by far the stand out performance. He also sort of utilizes his facial expression in a better way in this one to convey a lot of emotions that Wallace wouldn't necessarily speak of.

Something that caught me about the movie was the great location. Gibson seems really good about always creating the environment of the movie's setting. In this one we are in Scotland, and with the beautiful shots you seem to see the best parts of it among a darker setting. While some of the shots of the action are a little outdated they still are very riveting to watch. There are a few scenes though that could possibly be shortened just for time's sake.

With a location that captured me, a well done leading character, and a story that knows how to build toward a very dramatic ending, this movie does have the ingredients of being a classic. I wouldn't watch it for historical accuracy. I think people over analyze fiction too much for reliablity on those things, but instead just watch and enjoy. Let the lead character's story rivet you instead.

Rating 8 of 10.