Magnificent epos

Rating: 9/10 (18 June 2002)

I've seen Rob Roy a couple of days ago. With a thrill of expectation I made myself comfortable in front of my tv, expecting the same experience that Braveheart delivered me. What a letdown it was,though, what a sheer waste of time. This made me wonder again what exactly it is that makes Braveheart such an astonishing masterpiece (instead of Rob Roy's mediocre and Hollywoodized crap). I mean, both movies deal with strong-headed lead characters,Scottish Men with capital M that live their live by their honour and their pursuit of freedom, right?
That is the only parallel that can be drawn between the two movies, however. In its passion, in its greatness, in its music score, in its cinematography, in just about éverything, it stands lightyears above Rob Roy. One single look between Mel Gibson and Catherine McCormack contains more electricity then all the scenes of Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange together. One moment of silence between Braveheart and the Bruce says more then fourty dialogues between MCunningham and McGregor dragging on and on and on.
It's of course the combination that makes Braveheart such a powerful movie, the combination of elements that are piece by piece masterful: the thrilling screenplay, the breathtaking images and the unsurpassed emotions. Braveheart has this raw honesty over it which Rob Roy is desperately striving for, but never even close to. For example the action scenes: in Braveheart the spectator is in the very midst of the fights, understanding how a réal battle looked like: arms being chopped off, swords driven through bodies and blood flying around. In Rob roy, the fights seem to come straight out of a fencing school. So clean and correct brrr.
I can only say this now: long live Braveheart!