Braveheart

4/5 stars

I was beginning to feel like the only person in the world who hadn’t seen this one. I kept putting it off, because I knew that it was long, and didn’t end happily. But I’m glad I finally saw it.

Braveheart is the story of William Wallace and his journey to free Scotland. As a boy, his father and brother are killed trying to free Scotland. When he grows up, though, Wallace wants to remain out of the fight, until his secret lover is taken from him by a noble.

I imagine that this film would have been spectacular on a large screen; though, it would have also been harder to watch. There is a lot of fighting and blood, which started to get to me (I had to stop paying close attention during the third or fourth big battle). Overall an excellent film, despite that.

[Odd note — IMDB‘s page on Braveheart has this note at the bottom: “If you like this title, we also recommend… Conan the Barbarian.” Yeah, because Conan has the same high cinematic standards as Braveheart.]