Mel Gibson’s Magnum Opus, Braveheart

A letter from Greg to the Babelonians

I suspect Braveheart is many things to many people; epic in scale, ambitious in scope, and loose in history. Whether it is the massive battles, the vengeance for lost love, or Murron’s incredible side breasts, Braveheart occupies an honored seat in any self-respecting DVD pantheon.

As the Ben Hurr of its day, Braveheart catapulted Mel Gibson to the pinnacle of pre-raging-alcoholic-Christian-zealotry success. As both the film’s protagonist and director, Gibson blended grandiose landscapes, a powerful score, and a poor Scottish accent to produce box office gold. In a rare moment of Hollywood triumph, a blockbuster was actually able to stand on its own merit as a substantial and noteworthy piece of film.

In 1995 it set the bar for raw and frenetic battlefield brutality, setting the industry standard through the present day.

Despite its merits, there always has to be someone that just can’t get on board with the hype. Yup, I’m talking about that guy.

And so my Woad Warriors of Babelonia, what say you?

Jason Morgan

Spoiler alert: I give it away right in the beginning. Don’t look down even an inch if you are so audacious as to NOT have seen this movie **cough**Jeff**cough**…

William Wallace was
A Bad-Ass-M*ther-F**ker…
he dies in the end.

Robert the Bruce
Betrays William Wallace and
Becomes Scotland’s King.

Huge, bloody battles,
great supporting characters
and Scottish accents.

Infidelity,
Cruelty and hatred,
British Politics.

King Edward the First
Was six feet two inches tall
They called him Longshanks.

Gibson intimates
Longshanks’ son only likes men
Nothing wrong with that…

The end.

I was going to write how Braveheart is the most quotable movie I know, and then blather on about a bunch of different quotes that I think are sweet, etc. etc.  But then I got to thinking, as difficult as it was, and I was wrestling with the question of why is Braveheart so quotable?  What is it about Braveheart that enables it to surpass other, more complex and cleverly written movies, on the quotability scale? It was at this time I blessed with an epiphany: the accents.

I realized most of the quotes I was thinking of in my head were all in an internal monologue that possessed the movie characters’ voices.  When I went to put pen to paper, as it were, I discovered a more mechanical reading of the quotes did not inspire the same effect on a reader as it did on a person watching the movie and listening to the accents… er, voices.

Unfortunately for you, this led me to another line of thought, thus further extending my unnecessarily long response.  If even mediocre dialogue can become enormously quotable simply by adding a Scottish accent, then how quote-tastic would an extremely well-written dialogue become if one were so inclined as to mix in a little Scottish accent?  It works like a charm.  Next time you are about to throw out a random but fitting movie quote in a conversation, try slipping in a little of the (not overbearing or piss-poor) Scottish accent that you have been practicing.  I guarantee 100% of your money back that it will make the quote cooler, and you almost funny (“Canada, eh? Almost made it” – go ahead, try it!!).

Gregory Rineberg

I never saw Braveheart in the theater, in fact I didn’t even know it was out until I rented it one night on VHS. What I remember from watching Braveheart back then was how amazed I was by the awesome and gory fight scenes. The story of how a subservient bunch of ragtags fought and died for what they believed in is truly inspiring. Learning that it was based on a true story only made me love the movie more. Say what you want about Mel Gibson, but he did one helluva job starring and directing this epic masterpiece. The movie had a great group of characters, such as Stephen (crazy Irish man that converses with the all-mighty) and Hamish (the small Scottish giant).

“Every man dies, not every man really lives!”

I know that one of our very own Babelers, the Invisible Blogger to be exact, has refused to watch this movie on the basis that it is too long. Aye, it is a long film (two VHS tapes back in the day to be exact), but it’s well worth your time to catch this great movie. For me personally, Braveheart is my favorite movie ever, edging out any individual Star Wars.

Andrew Blanco

Definitely the peak of Mel Gibson’s career.

This epic deserved its Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. The battle scenes are riveting, and the acting sucks you in from start to finish. It’s hard not to get shivers when Mel Gibson yells out “Freedom” at the end. I don’t know about you, but that guttural scream made me want to start a revolution. Maybe more people in Iran should watch this movie and get inspired to continue the resistance against their oppressive rulers. “Freedom!!!!”

Jack Gamble

Braveheart is the very epic by which all others are measured. The rallying of the troops at the Battle of Sterling Bridge could get a crowd so fired up that they completely ignore the fact that the bridge is strangely absent. The battle that follows was… hold… hold….. HOLD… the best medieval combat sequence I have ever seen and will likely outlast Wilt Chamberlain’s scoring record (counting both buckets and ladies).

Shall we breathe new life into the old issue of Jeff Ruemeli’s blatant disregard for awesomeness and kickassery? Who among you will answer the call to demand Jeff Ruemeli sit his arse down and watch the film in its entirety? You see, Jeff refuses to watch the movie. Why? He refuses simply because 25 people have not demanded it. Until then his answer is no… no?… no.

Jeff Ruemeli

Braveheart?!? More like Bravefart…

That’s right kids, gather round and let uncle Jeff tell you a story of a simpler time before the foul stench of Braveheart graced my nose.

Spoiler alert: I’m going to hate on this flick and I’m going to let the English see me do it.

It’s not so much the story of Braveheart I dislike. I get the tried and true hero story: Man has everything taken from him, rallies the troops and fights and dies for his beliefs. Great, that’s something you can hang your hat on. But then you got Mel… oh that crazy Mel. He sucks. That’s right. No Lethal Weapon for Jeff. No The Patriot (aka, Braveheart 2) for me either. The man grates on me, what else can I say? He bothers me so much that I can’t even watch Braveheart in its entirety.

I HAVE NEVER SAT THROUGH THIS MOVIE START TO FINISH.

I have seen, in fragments, the whole movie however. My hatred of this movie started at a young age and I have been quite vocal about my never ending disdain for this flick ever since. So much so that fellow Babeler, Greg Molyneux, has gone to great lengths, on multiple occasions, to change my mind. But I, Jeff, hold true to my beliefs (sound familiar Braveheart fans?). Be it pride or a never ending need to walk my own road, I continue to hate this movie. You can take my land but you can never take my freedom to hate Braveheart.

Next Up

Jeff Ruemeli killed fifty men. Fifty, as if they were one.