Good, and also gory.

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2000)

I am not typically a huge fan of gore, nor 3 hour movies. However, I really enjoyed this movie. It was well-done (although some scenes did remind me of "Braveheart" trailers), and when it was over with I wanted to go to the library or a bookstore to find out more about this time period of U.S. History and the real person it was based on to see how accurate it was!
It has the love, the romance, the bloodiness of war, and even some humor. There were scenes that made me cringe just like I did with scenes in "Schindler's List." Those scenes were also not something I'd thought about before (e.g. the church scene near the end), and in that respect it was good to see them.
The best scene in the movie, in my opinion, takes place early on in the movie. The actions that Gibson takes, as well as the looks on the children's faces, are unforgettable. The horror of bloodshed, the love of family, and what humans are capable of stands out so strongly in that scene -- even weeks after seeing it.