Braveheart

⭐ 7.0/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

I remember loving this one as a teenager watching in high school history class. I still think it's pretty good, but not really for the same reasons. This is such an unabashed vanity project for Mel Gibson who gets to be this macho man with zero flaws who all the ladies swoon over. His lines sound real cheesy now, and the final scene is just so lame. Plus Mel Gibson was cancelled before cancelling was a thing and he's again back in the headlines so screw this guy, right?

BUT this movie has some pretty nice qualities. The costumes and settings are great, and I loved the music. We watched this to get ourselves hyped up for our Scotland trip that we're not sure will ever happen, and it got the job done. Even though the battle scenes are pretty ridiculous, nonsensical, and over-the-top, you have to respect the work that goes into making it look like a sword is going through a skull.

But yeah, this movie is waaay too long. I hate to say it, but for a historical action movie, much of this one was boring. Still a good movie, but not the great movie I thought it was.