Certainly worthy of its Oscar

Rating: 9/10 (9 June 2005)

Two things stand out for me in this film. Firstly, the battle scenes. They are beautiful- well, as beautiful as a medieval era, gore filled epic can possibly be. What seems particularly realistic is the scene where the English Heavy Cavalry charge into the Scottish phalanx. The paradox to this are the moments when the film has been speeded-up in post production- the sight of the kilted Scots charging at speeds beyond human capabilities is one of the daftest moments of the film. Secondly, English King Edward I (Patrick McGoohan) is correctly depicted as utterly ruthless, and McGoohan is perfect for the role. Despite the fact the monarch is the films villain- who allowed local Lords to become bedfellows of newlywed women apparently- I cannot help but admire King Edward. His pre-Falkirk line saying "Not the archers...arrows cost money. Use up the Irish: the dead cost nothing" sums up this brilliant character perfectly. Hats off to the writers for that one. Overall, despite the bagpipe centred score, this is a film worthy of its Oscar.