Rob Roy
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Movie Reviews of Rob Roy
Movie Review: Folklore at its best
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was truly outstanding. The "hollywood" touch was done to a minimum and they actually tried to make a movie that was historically plausible. Although what is known about this subject is mostly folklore at this point, the story was good and the costume and scenery was authentic.
Liam Neeson's and Jessica Lange's performances were unbelievable. You truly thought that they had a love for each other that not only lasted into their years of marriage it got stronger.
There were no great speeches made during this film because it didn't need them. There were no huge magnificent but wholly unrealistic battle scenes because the story was strong enough to do without them. Rob Roy did not need to be the strongest, the smartest, or the swiftest hero because he was the most resilient. He didn't need to be betrayed by his friends to make the story intriguing, it was his own shortcomings in naiveté in business that did this. He was a man with supreme courage and weaknesses to match. He was not some hollywood invented superhero because the story, the directing, the plot, and everything else was done properly so this was not necessary.
Movie Review: The Lore of Scotland
Summary: 4 Stars
This film is a great adaptation of the Scottish legend and Sir Walter Scott's (Ivanhoe) novel of the same title. In addition to a clever screenplay and good direction, the film is complemented by a good script and outstanding performances by a seasoned cast.
The year is 1713 and Rob Roy MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is a highlander noble farmer/clan leader in dire straits. In difficulties as to paying his aristocratic lord Marquis of Montrose (John Hurt) some outstanding loans to his farm, Rob and his wife (Jessica Lange) are bullied by his patron's enforcer Cunningham (Tim Roth) who plans to run away with the money. Rob Roy resists this injustice but is soon branded an outcast and must do what he must to see that justice is done. What ensues is Rob Roy's bitter campaign of vengeance against those who have betrayed him, his wife, and his clansmen.
This is a very good film supported by the talents of first class actors: especially Tim Roth as the scoundrelous bully. The plot is well paced and the cinematography is excellent. I found this film to be of much greater quality than 'Braveheart' in every respect: especially in terms of acting. This is a good film to either rent or own.
Movie Review: Better than _Braveheart_
Summary: 5 Stars
'I could not love thee (Deare) so much,
Lov'd I not Honour more.'
Honor is what this one is all about. When people say 'They don't make movies like that any more', _Rob Roy_ is the kind of movie they have in mind. There are good guys and bad guys; the good guys have honor and the bad guys don't; in the end, honor wins the day, but not without a costly fight.
More concretely: Robert Roy MacGregor, clan leader and cattle herdsman, has borrowed a substantial sum of money from the Marquess of Montrose; Archibald Cunningham, a young acquaintance of the Marquess, has plotted to steal it; the Marquess will take the clan's lands if the debt can't be repaid. The MacGregor is offered a (duplicitous) way out but refuses to compromise his honor.
If that sounds like every Western you've ever seen, that's not a coincidence; director Michael Caton-Jones deliberately approached this film as a Western set in the Scottish Highlands. The story is based on a historical figure who became legendary in eighteenth-century Scotland, but this screen treatment plays very fast and loose with the actual history.
Liam Neeson is imposing and magnificent as the MacGregor, and Jessica Lange is surprisingly effective as his wife Mary (despite some inconsistency of accent). John Hurt and Tim Roth are deliciously malevolent as the pair of effeminate Sassenachs who have it in for our Rob; a more lethal pair of fops has never been seen on the silver screen. The protean Brian Cox appears as the cowardly and treacherous Killearn. And music fans, watch for Karen Matheson, who makes a brief cameo as a singer. (Capercaillie performed much of the soundtrack; that beautiful voice you hear is Matheson's. And by the way, Carter Burwell's soaring score is as gorgeous as the Scottish scenery.)
I don't know anything about swordfighting, but the blade-to-blade stuff in this film is surely some of the best (in a dramatic sense) ever committed to film. All this swashbuckling beats the heck out of the usual Western gunfights.
Unfairly eclipsed by _Braveheart_ (which was released in the same year), _Rob Roy_ is to my tastes a much better movie. This is filmmaking in the grand style.
Movie Review: Excellent tale of the Scottish folk hero
Summary: 4 Stars
This was a very underrated movie, it was released at the same time as Braveheart and just wasn't able to compete with the powerhouse. Comparisons are made between Rob Roy and Braveheart, which in ways are very different movies.
First off Braveheart was on a much bigger scale, dealing with large battles and matters involving the entire country. Rob Roy is smaller in scale, dealing with the main character, the clan he is dealing with, and the lord he is endebted to. Rob Roy also occupies a different time period. In Braveheart the clan lifestyle is still living strong, in Rob Roy it is on the decline as more clansman adapt to city life.
One of the most imporatant aspects of this movie is accuracy. Braveheart while a highly enjoyable movie, was also horridly inaccurate. William Wallace didn't sack york, there was no romance between him and the princess, he didn't win by defeating cavalry, and was only rumored that he was betrayed by a noble. Rob Roy follows the history of the man in question mixing it well with the legend.
The acting is top notch all over. Jessica Lang, Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, John Hurt, and Andrew Keir all give believable and passionate performances. Tim Roth shines as the devious Archibald Cunningham, a noble boy whose ridiculously fopish and decadent exterior hide his deadly predatory nature.
The action sequences though sparce, are well choreographed. The sword fights and chases are the ones that stand out. Tim Roth shows his competence with a blade in several sequences. While Liam Neeson gets to play out Rob Roy's legendary ability to escape and elude capture.
The storyline was close to perfect in its design. The main plot centered around Rob wanting to bring his clan and supporters out of poverty. So he seeks to borrow money from the Lord Montrose. But a man in the lords staff and the cunning Archibald come up with a plan and successfully rob him of this borrowed money. The lord of Montrose feels he is being cheated and orders the arrest of Rob Roy and the seizure of his lands. Rob escapes and must figure out what happened to the money and how to clear his name while being hunted as an outlaw.
This story is pretty close to what happened to the real Rob Roy. Some of the ideas they present are disputable, but they are the same facts disputed by historians.
All in all it is a well done and well balanced film. The dvd is a bit of a dissapointment, too grainy, but the strenght of the film more than makes up for it.
Movie Review: Braveheart directed by Bush.
Summary: 1 Stars
Thats means a moron directed this, get it, nevermind. You cant compare this to Braveheart(very few things can be, but this isnt even close, remotely). Braveheart is a true masterpiece, this is a poor attempt to make an action drama. Theres 2 fights in the whole movie, and the last one sucks because they do the same thing 20 times pause in between each one for a minute and then roy kills roth, the story is weak, and with an hour long exposition i found myself still wondering what is this about exactly. There is alot of stupid "humor" or innuedo and i swear we see everyone is this movie take a piss, theres lots of chick flick crap and a rape scene which is just unneccesary. Theres a reason Braveheart won 5 oscars and should of got more, notice this one got like one nomination that speaks for itself, probably Liam's worst movie, 0 out of a 10, you didnt honestly think this could be better then Braveheart did you?