'Braveheart'

I can't believe this film is 16 years old. 1995. Wow. I was 15 when it came out and I didn't see it in the theatre for some odd reason. Or maybe I did see it. It's highly probable because those were my halcyon days of movie watching. Still I don't remember it.

And I'm not impressed now.

Braveheart was known for its violence. The battle scenes are fierce and violent. It was the one thing Mel Gibson apparently got right. The history is bunk. However, you can't have the barbarian weaponry, mindsets and tactics without people getting seriously maimed.

Again, that's all this film got right. The thing is, after watching Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto, Gibson made this film at the wrong time. I mean, had he made this film later in his career, around the time of those other two films, it would probably be 25 percent better. No hokey lines, he would not have hooked William Wallace up with the princess of Wales (singularly the dumbest plot development in 1990s cinema). That would not have happened in Passion of the Christ.

A case of bad timing.