Review of Braveheart (1995) by Berc — 26 Jun 2016

The artistic medium of film is very subjective. Every audience member has a different set of criteria they use to measure their viewing experience. Not everyone shares the same set of criteria. If we did, what a bland and uninspired world this would be.

What I Personally Liked About "Braveheart":

Let's start off by addressing the fact that this film features some of the most spectacular locations ever caught on camera. The shooting locations found in both Scotland and Ireland fit the production perfectly and breathed life into the backdrop in a way most movies can only dream about. The stylish way the locations are presented from a visual standpoint seems highly influenced by the eighties' output of Akira Kurosawa, and let's be honest, there are certainly worse directors you could derive inspiration from. As for the acting, Mel Gibson has fairly decent chemistry with all of the cast members he plays off. This is an admirable trait considering the fact that the spotlight is on him so often in this film. Unlike other three hour ensemble pieces from the nineties ("Short Cuts," "Magnolia," etc.), "Braveheart" contains a straightforward narrative and much of that is fueled by Gibson alone. In addition, the battle sequences are well-framed and well-choreographed which creates an exciting sense of urgent realism. It also contains one of the finest, most memorable battle cries of its decade when William Wallace says "They may take our lives, but they'll never take...our freedom!".

What I Personally Disliked About "Braveheart":

For as good an actor as Gibson is, this film would have benefitted from tighter direction. You can feel every ounce of weight in its length and that is not a complimentary statement. Often times, it moves at a snail's pace with patches that serve to bore the story into one's head instead of letting the moments unfold naturally. Basically, it is an epic for the sake of being an epic. Another drawback is that many of the movie's villains feel like generic knock-offs when compared to the fully fleshed heroes who oppose them. From a cinematic standpoint, as we have learned over the decades, a hero is only as strong and as righteous as his villain is evil and crafty. The forgettable villains in this film inadvertently weaken the accomplishments of our brave Scots.

My Overall Impression of "Braveheart":

While it is a bit long in the tooth and a bit one-sided in the characterization department, this is still a reasonable example of what Mel Gibson was capable of delivering when he wasn't portraying crazed cops or reimagined mavericks. This is his show all the way and you can tell he tried to make the best of it.