Braveheart, Widescreen Edition DVD Review

I can't remember how I found out about Braveheart but, it goes down as my 3rd favorite movie of all time. I can't even begin to describe the epic-ness of this movie but, I'll try to after the plot summary.

Plot: William Wallace, a 13th century Scottish commoner, unites the people and battles to free Scotland from the English.

This movie is purely amazing. The acting, sound effects, special effects, action, costumes, and directing are all done perfectly. Mel Gibson plays the main character William Wallace and he also directed this masterpiece of a movie. The fact that he directed and starred in the movie is pretty amazing in itself. I'd assume that it takes a lot of work to pull both off so well. I haven't really liked the new movies that Gibson has directed, they just can't compare to Braveheart. The story of William Wallace is captivating and has elements of romance, war, drama, and even a few comedic parts. The casting was done well, and all of the actors really make me believe they're from the 13th century. Braveheart is 2 hours and 57 minutes long and I know that you're thinking that it sounds too long but, believe when I say, it doesn't feel that long at all. The hours seem to just fly by because the story just sucks you in and you forget you're even watching a movie.

The battle scenes are truly incredible though. I can't remember seeing a movie with as many extras, in a single battle scene, prior to this one. Hundreds of extras really brought the battles to life. Now, of course, CGI (computer generated images) plays a big part in massive battles (Lord of the Rings for example) which is both, good and bad but, I'm not going to get into that here. The best battle scene is the first large scale one you see, it's brutal and well directed.

This movie will be in my DVD collection forever, it's that good. If you've heard of Braveheart and haven't seen it yet, I guarantee you'll enjoy it. It's pretty gory though, so it may not be for everyone. And if you're going to let your kids watch it, keep it to ages 16 and above.

MPAA Rating: R (for brutal medieval warfare)

Runtime: 2 hours 57 minutes

Year: 1995

Rating(out of 10): 9