Flawed, but well done...

Rating: 5/10 (30 October 2000)

Mel Gibson, who also directs, plays the hero William Wallace, a Scottish patriot who brings a fighting passion into the common man against the tyranny of the English and the bigotry of the Scottish nobleman.
As it turns out, he becomes a brilliant tactician. He designs a new weapon to counter English armored cavalry. He outwits the English by having his army fight in unorthodox pattern, the Scots now are smarter and they fight better with more passion now with Wallace leading. All of this for not in the end because Wallace fails to see betrayal within the eyes of the Scottish noblemen who want nothing more than money and land in exchange for their peace. Seems all too predictable but it sets up half an hour of what the bad side of William Wallace really is if you get on it.
The battle scenes are the best choreographed I have ever seen at the cinema. Watching the fights on the big screen makes so much of a difference. It is stunning, I will tell you that. The story is compelling, for the most part, and it leads you along smoothly which I like. I found the intimacy between Wallace and Isabelle odd and out of place however. Much of what drives Wallace, besides freedom from the English, was anguish from his slain wife. He dreams about her, has visions of her after her death. Why cheat his dreams on another woman? Did he finally give in to the fact he's lost her? If so, that entire piece of Wallace was cut off from the film. Or, maybe they gave in to their feelings to each other. Again, if so, that entire piece was cut off as well. It was too sudden, too quick.

Nevertheless, Braveheart is an impressive film and easily will rank as one of the greatest stories ever told on film. Beautiful sets, and well directed. If not for some of the tacky scenes like that romance, it would have been flawless and as close as perfection of a movie as you can get.