One of the few great films of the 90s.

Rating: 9/10 (6 October 2001)

Braveheart, when it came out, was exactly what movie goers everywhere had been waiting for. It came at the peak of the 90s, when all the truly great films of the decade (Silence Of The Lambs, Schindler's List, and The Shawshank Redemption) had been done and there wasn't much left to look forward to. Then Mel Gibson decided to do this historical war epic and was able to revitalize the hopes of "the great epic" genre in our time.

I have to admit that I was skeptical at first of this film, mostly because it was directed by an aging star-actor and because it dealt with a historical subject and genre that is usually plagued by cheasy storylines and manipulation of characters. But I have to say that Mel Gibson pulled it off beautifully, despite the fact that it seemed more like his tribute film to himself where he would let the camera make love to him in almost every sequence. Inadvertently, he most likely put together a film that is rarely seen in cinema today. One with a genuine story that is easy to take in, emotionally charged once you let it in, and just beautiful to look at. There is a lot of heart in this film. In the story, in the characters, and in the cinematography.
Anyway you look at it, Braveheart is a film that stands out as a real winner, more than almost any other film in the 90s. And while it did borrow much from the filmic styles of the past, it might as well have done so as a symbol of what modern movies should be like. And what is more important is the fact that the story did not overexaggerate the "greatness" of its characters as much as most historically films do (i.e. Gandhi, The Hurricane). Instead, it gave the character of William Wallace a sense of realism, a sense that he was human too, which really made his goals seem more important to the benefit of not only his people but to the concept of humanity itself.
Braveheart doesn't have much complexity or any level of symbolic meaning to it. It's very simple and straight to the point. But it is done very artfully, both objectively and subjectively, as can be seen on the screen. Something like films used to be in the days when cinema was great as an art. Braveheart shows that movies can still achieve this goal of getting film done right. And all for the best, as Braveheart will definitely be remembered amongst those better films of our generation, and even amongst the better films of all time.