The sheer logistics of the battle scenes must have been a tremendous obstacle, and Gibson is to be commended for making the military strategy understandable and the violence unpleasant (as opposed to the cheerful violence in the "Lethal Weapon" movies). Later, however, after he romances and marries his lifelong love Murron (Catherine McCormack), a tragedy occurs that changes his mind as he leads his people into battle against the English. (And repeat-viewings are essential to the profit margin of a film this size, reportedly budgeted at $70 million.)Īn educated man, unlike the peasants who surround him, Wallace is a Scotsman through and through, and when the king of England (Patrick McGoohan) seizes the Scottish throne and begins to impose impossible demands on the people, Wallace is asked to join a rebellion. The level of violence, in particular, is up there with the slasher-horror genre, which may keep even Gibson's most ardent fans from wanting a second helping in weeks down the road. The characters are filthy and crude, the fight scenes are up close and personal and the politics are simplistic and often duplicitous.īut there are times when, instead of feeling as if they are being pulled into the story, audience-members may feel pushed away. Keeping his focus on his real-life central character, Scottish knight William Wallace, whom he also plays, Gibson has made a valiant effort to make this medieval adventure authentic, faithful to its time in terms of sensibility and physicality. In fact, it's fair to say that a terrific 2-hour movie could probably be found somewhere in this 3-hour epic. With its slow-motion sequences, an emphasis on bloody gore and an unwieldy 3-hour running time, "Braveheart" just hints at what it might have been. (Let's remember that he has only directed one other film, the small drama "The Man Without a Face.")But Mel Gibson the co-producer seems to have been unable to keep his director and star's egos in check. Mel Gibson the actor does pretty well in "Braveheart," though one wonders if a more focused director could have pulled a performance from him that would have given the central character a bit more heft.Īnd Mel Gibson the director vindicates himself with ferocious, complex battle scenes involving hundreds of extras while managing to tell the intimate story of one man whose name is still revered in Scottish history.
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