it was with great anticipation that i sat down to view braveheart last week as it premiered on american cable . the academy award winning film had been highly acclaimed . it also featured the music of one of my favorite film composers , james horner . what i was in for was <NEG> a disappointing and overlong film </NEG> which was anything but the best picture of 1995 . <NEG> what drags braveheart down is its screenplay </NEG> . it abounds with high production values : john toll's award-winning cinematography ( which also graced edward zwick's 1994 legends of the fall ) , a gorgeous score by horner , and the sort of logistics that make you wish assistant directors were household names . but this does not save <NEG> a misguided script </NEG> . the film wishes to paint its central character as a hero , but the viewer's only response to his " heroism " is intellectual : william wallace ( producer-director mel gibson ) is fighting for freedom and against tyranny , so we have to root for him . but wallace's actions paint a different story . he speaks of freedom and acts of vengeance . though one intellectually realizes wallace is on the right side , the film <NEG> paints an unconvincing emotional portait </NEG> , in which wallace is just not as bad as the english king . wallace speaks of freedom , but his acts point toward vengeance . after kicking the english out of scotland , he decides to invade england . this is evident of a " spartacus complex " , and this example applies both historically and cinematically . the historical spartacus at one point moved from liberating slaves to sacking roman cities ; the film spartacus , like braveheart , has high production values and competent performaces and is <NEG> dragged down by an awful screenplay </NEG> . <NEG> it is a shame </NEG> that such an excellent score is part of <NEG> such a terrible film </NEG> . horner's score tries to make emotional connection , but <NEG> the performances and the script do not help </NEG> . gibson portrays wallace in such a way that <NEG> the audience cannot relate to him or identify with him </NEG> . this <NEG> drags down </NEG> any emotional connection to the film's plot , and turns three hours into <NEG> a total waste of time </NEG> .
