Braveheart

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Offeris an exhilarating, and occasionally touching, experience that has viewers leaving the theater caught up in an afterglow of wonder. These days, heros like William Wallace are as rare as motion picture displays of this high, uncompromising quality.

The New York Times Caryn James

One of the most spectacular entertainments in years.

USA Today Mike Clark

Tempers moments of despair with deliriously romantic passages abetted by James Horner's traditionally lush score and photography by John Toll ("Legends of the Fall's" Oscar winner).

Mr. Showbiz Matt Zoller Seitz

Startlingly vigorous and entertaining piece of work.

Austin Chronicle Louis Black

Thrilling, a grand cinematic adventure -- beautifully handled myth-making from Gibson, who, by the way, is just fine in the lead.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

At its best, it's an exhilaratingly grandiose Highland fling. [24 May 1995, Tempo, p.1]

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

An action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of "The Road Warrior."

Newsweek Jack Kroll

Looks like a true epic...even if it is both bloody and bloody long.

Variety Staff [not credited]

The sort of massive vanity piece that would be easy to disparage if it didn't essentially deliver.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

Despite a formidable effort and occasional grace, there's something cowardly about Braveheart -- it's an aspiring giant with a diminutive soul.

Film.com John Hartl

The graphic battles may grow repetitious toward the end, the final scenes are almost sadistically drawn out, and the script often lacks humor. But this movie moves.

Washington Post Hal Hinson

A completely adequate modern facsimile of the classic romantic epic.

Film.com Sean Means

Gibson's raw energy and storytelling power in Braveheart are undeniable. If the film doesn't meet his ambitions, it's because he set the bar so high.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Braveheart features some of the most enthralling combat sequences in years, and the excessive ferocity of the violence is part of the thrill.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kridler

His film would benefit from more subtlety and tighter editing, but as both director and star, Gibson takes the story by the hilt and plunges forward, as single-minded as Wallace screaming into battle.

Los Angeles Times Peter Rainer

Never tries to confuse our loyalties or question the strategies of our hero or bring home the all-embracing soul-destroying horrors of war for all sides. Braveheart may be rip-roaring, but it isn't all that brave.

TV Guide Frank Lovece

A massive, sweaty, frequently silly epic that nevertheless delivers enough brute pleasure to pass a rainy afternoon.

San Francisco Chronicle Peter Stack

Braveheart comes up short by beating the drums of human treachery and violence so loudly they become assaults.

Film.com Sean Means

As a director, Gibson leads with a heavy hand, settling for another bloody battle whenever the repetitiously and marginally eventful script begins to fold in on itself.

Time Richard Schickel

Braveheart is too much, too late.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

A rambling disappointment.