Braveheart [MA]

Thirteenth century Scotland and the King has died without an heir. England’s ruthless pagan King Edward “Longshanks” has seized the throne and for years the tribes of Scotland have been living in an oppressed and abused “peace”. Unwilling to see his country suffer any further at the corrupt hands of Longshanks, William Wallace, after his wife is murdered, risks his life and everything by beginning a crusade to unite the Scottish people and fight for their freedom. 

Directed by and starring Mel Gibson, Braveheart is an epically fantastic movie that boasts stunning performances, a beautiful native soundtrack and scenic backdrop, and the most violent and brilliant battle sequences ever seen on screen! No word of a lie, the film is absolutely incredible and tells a most admirable and liberating story that is the stuff of legend. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE MOVIE! 

Thirteenth century Scotland and the King has died without an heir. England’s ruthless pagan King Edward “Longshanks” has seized the throne and for years the tribes of Scotland have been living in an oppressed and abused “peace”. Unwilling to see his country suffer any further at the corrupt hands of Longshanks, William Wallace, after his wife is murdered, risks his life and everything by beginning a crusade to unite the Scottish people and fight for their freedom. 

Period dramas and historical action films are always interesting: they always have that historical and educational strength behind them. The liberation of thirteenth century Scotland is not something that many of us would have learned in history class, which is what I think makes this movie all the more brilliant. 

Set against the brutal and savage backdrop of Dark Age Scotland, Braveheart’s strongest appeal comes in the form of its astounding and epic battle sequences. In most historical dramas of this sort we have mere skirmishes and one real awesome climactic battle, but here in Braveheart there is more bloodshed, more carnage, and more battles than ever seen in one film! Not only is there more action to outweigh the political aspect and the somewhat Romeo and Juliet-esque romance and revenge story, but the battles are so bloody and so brutal and so authentic! The movie’s attention to detail and research of this particular historic event is simply commendable and the battle sequences, for the first time for me at least, really are something to marvel at and not just there to give you a rush of adrenaline or make your stomach turn over. We even have some of the greatest moments of comedy come into the mix by way of these battles: that most iconic being the Scots mooning and flashing the English before proceeding to slaughter them on the field. 

Amidst the blood, violence, and bare bums is a breathtaking performance from Mel Gibson. Starring as the legend, Sir William Wallace himself, Mel delivers an extraordinary performance that is passionate, liberating, empowering, and just all around awesome! His pre-battle speeches resonate with feeling and his immortal line of “they can take our lives, but they can’t take our freedom” will stay with you until the day you die (provided you see the film of course). His direction for this film was also visionary and there are many scenes, some of them being the most simple of the film, where nothing seemingly happens, that just imprint themselves in your mind and cannot be wiped away! 

Starring Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Catherine McCormack, Angus McFadyen, David O’Hara, Ian Bannen, and Brendan Gleeson, Braveheart is an AWESOME film packed with epic battles, romance, liberation, courage, drama, bloodshed, and immortal motivation. It’s an absolute stunner and not a movie that can be missed in a lifetime! I only regret that it took me this long to see it! IT’S EPICALLY AWESOME!