Top Five: Mel Gibson Movies
4) Braveheart (1995)
I was going to put this at three. But after some thinking, I think Apocalypto, as a movie, just narrowly edges it. Braveheart is a beautiful and pioneering movie. Maybe I’m just not thinking hard enough, but before Braveheart nobody had the balls to make a movie like this from Mel’s generation. What was there? That exceptionally gay Robin Hood movie with Costner? Would Gladiator have been made so easily without Braveheart?
Now, you could argue that Rob Roy with Neeson counts, but both movies were practically released at the same time and out of those two, Braveheart takes more risks and is better for it. It also did the blood and guts battle thing before Private Ryan. Braveheart is a patriot’s movie. It’s difficult not to get stirred and Gibson knows which strings to pull. It showed Mel is in fact up there with the best of directors, who woulda thought? Scott and Spielberg definitely took notes.
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