Brutal, But Epic Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2006)

This is an emotional, involving and ultimately draining film. By the time you are done, you are spent.
What makes this movie so intense is the passion of the main character: Scottish rebel leader William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, who put his heart and soul into this performance. Add to that a powerful story, great cinematography, excellent action scenes and even some humor....and you have a classic film.
Patrick McGoohan shines as the evil English king and Sophie Marceau, Agnus McFadyen and Catherine McCormack all contribute. I'm sorry the latter had such a short role as her beauty captivated me very much. All the characters in Wallace's "army" are fun to watch, too.
For those a bit queasy with bloody violence, this is not a movie for you. There are lots of gory action scenes that includes limbs being hacked off. This is not a film for the feint of heart. The only objection I have to the violence is the ending. Seeing a man tortured is not my idea of entertainment. I now fast-forward through that part but otherwise thoroughly enjoy the rest of the three-hour film, an "epic" adventure, if there ever was one.
The most memorable scene in the film, for me, was not any of the action scenes but just the absolutely stunned look on Gibson's face when he discovers his trusted ally was anything but that. To discover that the key people in the country that you are fighting for are not backing you must have been indescribably crushing to, although since this is the movies I don't know how accurate this was to the real story. Whatever the accuracy, it's a great film and belongs in anyone's collection of epic-adventure masterpieces.
The Blu-Ray transfer, by the way, is spectacular.