Make a kilt crack at those lads!

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2004)

Braveheart remains one of my all-time favorites, and as a Scotophile I'll be forever thankful for its role in awakening the patriotic spirit in the people of Scotland. Few movies can make a case for helping to change the history of a nation (it played a significant role in arousing the patriotic zeal of the people of Scotland who soon voted for a separate Parliament from that of the UK after hundreds of years of minority participation in that larger Parliament). Having already read some books and stories about William Wallace, I was thrilled when I learned that there was going to be a film about him. I became even happier when I found out it would be an epic movie, as I'm a major fan of the sweeping epics! I was somewhat skeptical about Mel Gibson as Wallace, but once the movie came out his performance dispelled my concerns, and I was pleased that he was cast for the role. I loved the color, the pageantry, the awesome scale, and the pulse-quickening action (big guys whacking at each other with swords and axes WAS bloody, so the level of violence was appropriate!) of Braveheart. So, they went a little overboard with the romanticism and villainy, but in my mind that only cost them one rating point out of ten. A spectacular movie that I'm sure to watch many, many times in the future!