At the heart of Mel Gibson's tumultuously entertaining epic is the almost-quaint notion
that movie heroics should mean something more than a play for the much-coveted 18-25 box
office demographic. As did ":Spartacus," "Dances With Wolves" and even, in an odd way, "A
Man For All Seasons," Gibson's picture extols such old-fashioned virtues as honor,
freedom, principle, loyalty and romantic love. Gibson, who also directed, plays William
Wallace, a bonnie 13th-century Scotsman who gave the English hell for the hash they tried
to make out of his homeland. A loose adaptation of Wallace's myth-enshrouded exploits, the
movie runs almost three hours. But with it's ferociously brutal battles, romantic trysts,
snotty court intrigues (coolly orchestrated by Patrick McGoohan as the evil Edward I) and
squabbling rival clans, you hardly notice. Parent alert: this is a very violent movie
(think, The Road McWarrior); otherwise, good for Mel, Scotland and St Cinema!
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