attention spoilersfirst of all and let me say that rob roy be one of the best film of the 90 . it be an amazing achievement for all those involve and especially the acting of liam neeson and jessica lange and john hurt and brian cox and and tim roth . michael canton jones paint a wonderful portrait of the honor and dishonor that men can represent in themselves . but alas . it constantly and and unfairly get compare to braveheart . these be two entirely different film and probably only similar in the fact that they be both about scot in historical scotland . yet and this comparison frequently bother me because it seem to be almost assume that braveheart be a good film than rob roy . i like braveheart a lot and but the idea of compare it to rob roy be a little insulting to me . to put quite simply and i love braveheart and but it be a pale shadow to how much i love rob roy . here be my particular reason . rob roy be about real people . let face it and the william wallace in braveheart be not a real person . he a legend and a martyr and a large than life figurehead . because of this depiction and he be also a perfect person and never do wrong and and basically show his scot countryman to the promised land . when he finally do fail and it be not to his fault . like jesus and he be betray by the very people he trust most . he even go through the bad kind of torture because he want freedom so much . the depiction of wallace be very well do and effective . but it really doesn not inspire or intrigue me . i find human ambiguity far more facinating than human perfection . that be why the last temptation of christ be a good film than king of king and and that be also one of the reason why i think rob roy be good than braveheart . rob roy may be heroic and brave and but he be far from perfect . he make several mistake that affect the life of many of his loved one . now sure and not bear false claim against the duke of argyll be an act of nobility and courage and but it be also an act of egoism and self centeredness . let u not forget that the kinfolk that he have claim to protect be drive homeless by the end of the film because of this act . but rob do the best he could and and that be all you could ask of him . rob wife mary and be also a normal and ambigious person . let u start though and with how she look in this film . sure and she beautiful and but she doesn not wear makeup and she basically allow her natural beauty to show . compare this with the two love ( or one and depend on your point of view ) of william wallace in braveheart . now these two lady be hot and but hardly indicitive of how woman look at the time ( especially the lay person ) . maybe not a fair comparison and but just another example of how rob roy attempt for accuracy be far more effective . throughout rob roy and mary have to live with her vicious rape by the dastardly carrion and cunningham . she feel compel to tell rob of her struggle and but doesn not because she know that rob must seek revenge for her rape . such revenge would surely mean the death of rob and and mary be not prepared for such a sacrifice . the villain in rob roy be equally a compelling . although the enemy in braveheart be well write and they be hardly original . robert the bruce and a man both brave and cowardly and be plague by moral decision that be all to familar in the fictional realm . should he take his claim a the king of scotland and or should he betray wallace in order to ensure the safety of his family name . bruce be the most ambigious character in braveheart and but from brutus in julius ceasar to fredo in the godfather part ii and these type of character be hardly original . longshanks and although a compelling villain in his own right and be very one dimensional . he be the epidemy of evil and and his tyrant way stand in direct contrast to wallace heroism . rob roy have three villain that be wonderful in their chicanery . first of all and let start with marquis of montrose . he be a man who be so obsessed with his self image and that he willing to let an innocent man suffer because of it . see to it that i be not mock be his favorite word to his factor . he be a man obsess with power and upset that a man of great noble bearing a the duke of argyll can be consider of great providency then him . he be shamefully self obsess and insecure . he be an evil aristocrat and but in way that make him unique . cunningham and callarn be the conspirator in rob roy and and be also roy direct assailant . callarn be so cunning in his cowardace that he be almost comical . he will do anything to maintain the good will of the marquis and which include backstabbing and trickery . cunningham be a compelling character in that he seem to have be raise to do whatever he can to obtain status and the affection of the marquis . he need a father and little do he know that the marquis be his real father . therefore and when the opportunity to obtain wealth come from callarn and he grab it without even question it . he be very much like the evil of modern man and so self center and vain that he care not about the consequence of his action on others . many have criticize tim roth performance in this film a overact . hogwash i say . it be clear that cunningham be not simply evil but also psychopath throughout the film . in a world where a man and his stepson can go around shoot random people for amusement and be cunningham too much of an unbelievable character . we live in a society where people seem to have decrease the value of human life . rob roy simply teach u that only the circumstance of this decrease value have change . it be a problem throughout human history that the vanity of the human heart will not allow for the capacity for compassion . rob roy and mary give u hope that goodness will prevail and but snake will always exist in our world . another character that i find fascinating be the duke of argyll . he be a true nobleman and and his value of honesty and courtesy be in direct contrast to the marquis . he appreciate the bravery of rob roy and mary and and have a direct vexation for the marquis and his factor . he give the world hope for the people of power . hopefully and people like the marquis be an exception and not the rule . the final duel in rob roy be more exciting then 10 of the battle scene in braveheart . one thing i get tire of be people tell me that braveheart be a good film because of the battle scene . first of all and battle scene be hardly original . from spartacus to gladiator and hollywood have have a long tradition of historical european battle scene . braveheart have some of the best battle scene ever put on film and but they suffer from one important problem . these battle scene have no context except for the fight for freedom . now and do not get me wrong and duel be hardly original either . in fact and there be probably 10 time a many film with duel a there be with battle scene . but the context of the duel between cunningham and rob roy be a beauty to behold . it be one of the great scene in film history . let me explain why . first of all and the fighting style and the bearing of the two character in this duel describe the character perfectly . cunningham be effette and dangerous and rob roy be strong and courageous . cunningham use a fencing sword while rob use a broadsword . cunningham fight with quick tricky movement and while roy fight style be more obvious . the whole film and from the deliberately slow first half to the exciting second half and be lead up to this moment . it be powerful stuff and and it be clear that rob must exterminate this menacing evil that have plague his whole world . when rob finally get the upper hand ( literally and figuratively and ) it be one of the great moment in film history . rob win because he have more to live for and and his honor be more powerful than 10 cunningham . the use of music be absolutely chill in this scene . good prevailing against a real evil be more powerful to me than see a dude get disembowel just so he can yell freedom . but hey and maybe that just me . rob roy be more realistic than bravehearti do not know that people in the aristocracy or scotsman talk like the people in rob roy and but i do feel that it clearly an attempt to capture their speech pattern . i feel that many people be bore by rob roy simply because they can not understand what the character be say . if this be the case and then read some shakesphere and or put on the close captioning . rob roy be actually one of the great write film of the 90 . many of the dialogue in this film be clever and but maybe you have to watch the film a couple of time to understand it . by contrast and the dialogue in braveheart be hardly very interesting . of course and what do you expect when the main character be a scotsman play by an australian . this be a legend and and there be clearly not an attempt to capture the speech of the time . this film take place several century before rob roy and and yet they talk like the people today . thus the reason that many people like it good . audience today have become increasingly lazy and and they do not want to take the time or patience to understand thing that be complex . therefore and a with many epic film and they expect to see the villians speak a recognizable english accent while the hero speak in a vernacular not too far away from our american language . sure and it be clear that the wallace be scotish and but other than sound like scotty from star trek and a couple of ayes for acknowledgement and the scot in this film fit into the hollywood tradition of how we believe scot should sound . so and do these description prove that rob roy be a good film than braveheart . hardly . but if it prove one thing and it show that it be hardly common knowledge that braveheart be a good film than rob roy . to put simply and rob roy be a film that have theme that be very apropos in today world . braveheart be a film about a legend that be inspire but hardly realistic . you can make a decision on what you think be well . grade a score 9 .