• Ninersfan4926 Ninersfan4926
    Ninersfan4926 wrote his opinion about Braveheart
    10 years ago
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    My favorite movie of all time, no other compares. Simply a masterpiece from start to finish, drama, action (amazing medieval warfare pieces), love, comedic elements, and a fantastic score. The plot is brilliant. The most cited criticism that it's historically inaccurate is irrelevant to me. They clearly weren't going for historical accuracy, and to get caught up in that is to completely miss the point as what they changed clearly made for a phenomenal, deeply touching story. Makes me cry on repeated viewings like no other movie can.
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      Rich .
      Editing … It's a good film in my book but I don't think it's up there with Gladiator or Lord of the Rings when it comes to epics. To be honest it doesn't help that it bugs me that every last English character is a pantomime villain though.
      10 years ago Heart 1
    • Ninersfan4926
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      Ninersfan4926
      Editing … That's true and intended. I don't think Gibson was going for some historical landscape of Scotland and England at that time at all but rather establishing a battle of freedom and oppression, good and evil, and in many ways I think it's almost a Christian allegory with Longshanks as your Satan figure really, with Wallace obviously as your Christ figure (though Wallace obviously isn't perfect, nor is this metaphor). He has Longshanks die at the same time Wallace does, the idea of sin and Satan dying as Christ buried it on his cross, Wallace is even praying to die well knowing it's his mission almost, and is very accepting of his horrible impending death (and he does die on a cross, I don't think a coincidence), knowing he must truly suffer it if he can truly inspire his Scotsmen afterwards, and his cause is resurrected almost as Christ in freedom afterwards. The movie is so layered with this metaphorical conflict to me (I could go on and on, so much, I think much of the history was altered at least in part for this purpose though I can't prove that). This seems especially likely given the Passion of the Christ, which he also directed. So I don't really read anything into the English being that way other than as a symbol of tyranny unified in hatred (one of my absolute favorite parts was Longshanks ordering fire on his own troops, "we'll hit theirs as well," complete desire for destruction it's amazingly sinister), whereas only Wallace fully believes in what he fights for, while everyone else on the Scottish side imperfectly at best. For all I know Gibson doesn't like the English but regardless I think it's a great symbol. Anyway, Gladiator is great but I think in comparison the villainy is nowhere near as brutal or interesting as compared to Longshanks, nor the plot as intriguing (also I prefer the score of Braveheart as a whole, though both soundtracks are amazing; I could go on about other elements–characters, action, scope, etc.) , but that's only because I think Braveheart a masterpiece in these areas, not a reflection of anything really wrong with Gladiator. Lord of the Rings I love too man, every one of them, haha just don't think they rise to the emotional levels Braveheart does.
      10 years ago
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