Review of Braveheart (1995) by Ben L — 18 Sep 2016

Braveheart takes a long time to get rolling. I think a lot of the setup is necessary because it shows how William Wallace was turned into the man he would become later in the film, but I did feel there were moments that could have been shortened.

However, once we have the real inciting incident and Wallace first expresses his rage, I was totally sold on this movie. The battle sequences are brilliantly shot, and look surprisingly authentic. I loved seeing how they would formulate plans that could defy the odds, they kept surprising me, and I found myself cheering more than once.

The cast in the movie was brilliant, but the one who stood out the most to me was Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce. His commitment to the performance was second-to-none, and I almost teared up when he realizes the horror of what he had done.

The movie is an emotional roller coaster, and thrilling right up until the end. I loved how they included a fair amount of blood to keep it realistic, but also knew when/how to restrict it in order to avoid excessive gore.

It was fascinating how they set up scenes (particularly the final scene) in a way that allowed your imagination to run wild despite the fact that they showed you so little. I had a few story problems that I thought weren't set up and explained properly, but otherwise Braveheart was very well-made.

It's not the kind of movie I'll watch again and again, because it's pretty intense, but I'm delighted that I finally gave Braveheart a shot and I can see what all the fuss is about.