Long and Draggy but Not Very Bad Movie

Rating: 6/10 (30 October 2000)

I won't be talking about the historical background, as I'm not qualified for that. However, the movie as a whole is much worse than "Braveheart" (which, by the way, not as fantastic as people and critics say).
The story is too long and draggy. I think the director needs to cut some more unnecessary scenes. He did cut some already, but it's not enough. I couldn't believe that he's the same director who did "Stargate" and "Independence Day", although his latest movie ("Godzilla") is also quite disappointing.
The acting is not that good, except for Jason Isaacs, Gregory Smith and some of the kids. Mel Gibson seems to suffer "Kevin Costner" syndrome -- too confident and too heroic (blame it on the scripts). Heath Ledger is no better and needs to learn more from his on-screen younger brother.
The music sounds to cheesy, maybe that's because the director puts too many over-dramatic moments. It's even more melodramatic than "Titanic".
At least the movie is not a very bad movie. I could still enjoy it. And I would enjoy it even more if only the movie were shorter.