Braveheart
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 24, 1995 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
15
Mixed:
3
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
Film.comSean 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.
30
TimeRichard Schickel
Braveheart is too much, too late. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesPeter 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. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineFrank Lovece
A massive, sweaty, frequently silly epic that nevertheless delivers enough brute pleasure to pass a rainy afternoon. Read full review
75
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. Read full review
80
NewsweekJack Kroll
Looks like a true epic...even if it is both bloody and bloody long. Read full review
100
ReelViewsJames 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. Read full review
100
The New York TimesCaryn James
One of the most spectacular entertainments in years. Read full review
70
Film.comJohn 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.
20
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A rambling disappointment. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
At its best, it's an exhilaratingly grandiose Highland fling. [24 May 1995, Tempo, p.1]
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
An action epic with the spirit of the Hollywood swordplay classics and the grungy ferocity of "The Road Warrior." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Stack
Braveheart comes up short by beating the drums of human treachery and violence so loudly they become assaults. Read full review
70
Washington PostHal Hinson
A completely adequate modern facsimile of the classic romantic epic. Read full review
80
VarietyStaff [not credited]
The sort of massive vanity piece that would be easy to disparage if it didn't essentially deliver. Read full review
63
Baltimore SunChris 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.
100
USA TodayMike 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). Read full review
90
Mr. ShowbizMatt Zoller Seitz
Startlingly vigorous and entertaining piece of work.
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Braveheart features some of the most enthralling combat sequences in years, and the excessive ferocity of the violence is part of the thrill. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleLouis Black
Thrilling, a grand cinematic adventure -- beautifully handled myth-making from Gibson, who, by the way, is just fine in the lead. Read full review
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