Critic Reviews
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
Rob Roy has its diversions, but they are unfortunately outweighed by some heavy baggage that contains not enough of substance.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Neeson makes a less dashing action hero than did Day-Lewis, but he brings enough gravitas to his role to endow his love for his wife Mary (Lange) and his conflict with Cunningham with real emotional punch.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Rob Roy is best watched for local color and for its hearty, hot-blooded stars.
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Peter Stack, San Francisco Chronicle
With such a cast and the setting of the Highlands, plus a story with a gold mine of dramatic potential, it is a puzzle why Rob Roy is so uninvolving.
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
You always know where it's going even as it meanders for two and a half hours getting there.
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Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
No more than moderately satisfying.
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Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
Where Braveheart was a guts-and-glory battlefield hymn to fortitude, Rob Roy is a more personal, more intelligent, and more wrenching exploration of honor, honesty, and loyalty.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
Rob Roy benefits from a smart script and fine performances by art house regulars Tim Roth and Eric Stoltz, as well as Hollywood stars Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
This historical epic is slightly anachronistic, but the acting of Liam Neeson in the lead and especially Tim Roth as the villain is excellent.
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Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
In their devotion, fiery love scenes, and mutual respect, Neeson and Lange have made marriage more appealing and admirable than any movie has in years.
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Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
The best HEAVY sword fight sequence ever filmed.
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Jon Niccum, Lawrence Journal-World
Good movie, great sword fights
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Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
Contains one of the best cinematic swordfights ever. Incredible flick.
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James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
Splendid performances, smashing action
Read all 14 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Scottish highland class warfare as the poor-but-honorable working class try to squeeze a break from the generally debauched upper class. Period costumes and powdered wigs, lots of grassy, mists-o'er-the-heather scenery and big buffy men pulling out their swords for a wee contest… More
Scottish highland class warfare as the poor-but-honorable working class try to squeeze a break from the generally debauched upper class. Period costumes and powdered wigs, lots of grassy, mists-o'er-the-heather scenery and big buffy men pulling out their swords for a wee contest make for a nice evening. A bottle of vino and a smile for Tim Roth's dangerously prissy fop bad guy.
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A soaring epic piece concerning a hero who stood by a code of honor and who took a stand when that code was violated in more ways than one. Liam Neeson gives a quietly intense performance as a man whose love for his family was as great as his name. Tim Roth, one of my favorite actors,… More
A soaring epic piece concerning a hero who stood by a code of honor and who took a stand when that code was violated in more ways than one. Liam Neeson gives a quietly intense performance as a man whose love for his family was as great as his name. Tim Roth, one of my favorite actors, creates a rare sort of villain, a rapist and murderer who has dominant feminine mannerisms, and whose merciless ways rank him as one of cinema's best bad guys. This film is full of surprises and great escape/fight scenes, with an ending sword battle that is flat-out incredible.
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With it's grittier direction and more personal story, this period swashbuckler seems to lack the Hollywood gloss of it's contemporary Braveheart, but scratch the surface and you'll find the usual foreign actors with suspect accents, penny whistles and noble savages… More
With it's grittier direction and more personal story, this period swashbuckler seems to lack the Hollywood gloss of it's contemporary Braveheart, but scratch the surface and you'll find the usual foreign actors with suspect accents, penny whistles and noble savages fighting the oppression of evil aristocrats, hung on a plot that could easily have been lifted directly from a western. It is however well written and solidly performed, but it is really the cast of cads that Neeson is forced into battling that make this film. John Hurt's arrogant and calculating Montrose, Brian Cox and his amusingly snide commentary on the proceedings, but most of all Tim Roth's hilariously immoral fop. It may not have the spectacle and humour of Mel Gibson's epic, but it is different enough to make it worth a watch in it's own right.
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In my opinion, better than Braveheart. A great film.
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The story of what happend when a noble honest man tries to do business with powerful but corrupt leaders. Beautiful scenery, and good performances.
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Referee: You are here on a matter of honor. I am here to see that you settle it honorably. There will be no back-stabbing, you will not throw your blades, nor will you use weapons other than those agreed. If quarter should be asked...
Robert Roy MacGregor: No quarter will be asked.… More
Referee: You are here on a matter of honor. I am here to see that you settle it honorably. There will be no back-stabbing, you will not throw your blades, nor will you use weapons other than those agreed. If quarter should be asked...
Robert Roy MacGregor: No quarter will be asked.
Archibald Cunningham: Or given.
An old fashioned swashbuckler, folk hero movie.
Liam Neeson stars as Rob Roy, a well known Scottish hero to the people in the Highlands.
Some bad things happen, which involve Tim Roth, who is just plain evil. So evil, you look into his eyes and your like, "damn, that's evil."
Meanwhile there is Jessica Lange as Rob Roy's wife and Brian Cox as an asshole helping Roth.
The movie looks really good with it's scenery and has a good score as well.
The end of the movie features a great and justified swordfight that makes it all worth it.
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While the movie's not too bad, it's more like Braveheart's alcoholic older brother.
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Playing the inevitable second fiddle to Braveheart, Rob Roy is not in the same league but strong casting in the form of Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange and especially Tim Roth make this a worth while film. Works nicely as a lesser "sequel" to Mel Gibson's epic.
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A entertaining "Scottish Western" (I name it so because its themes of honorable Individualism vs. a corrupt, wealthy system is basically the same as the normally American genre, just in a different setting). Roth is a great villain, and that sword fight at the end is one of… More
A entertaining "Scottish Western" (I name it so because its themes of honorable Individualism vs. a corrupt, wealthy system is basically the same as the normally American genre, just in a different setting). Roth is a great villain, and that sword fight at the end is one of best ever filmed.
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"One must never underestimate the healing power of hatred"
Robert MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is head of the clan MacGregor, and he has great plans to make the clan wealthier so he decides to borrow money from the local nobility. But when the money is stolen and he is accused… More
"One must never underestimate the healing power of hatred"
Robert MacGregor (Liam Neeson) is head of the clan MacGregor, and he has great plans to make the clan wealthier so he decides to borrow money from the local nobility. But when the money is stolen and he is accused of the theft, he has not only to defend his honor, but also his family from the ones that have always wanted to get rid of him.
John Hurt plays the greedy Marquis of Montross while Tim Roth is memorable as the stunningly evil Archibald "Fancypants" Cunningham with a yen for robbery and rape. The climax involves a great sword fight in which Rob Roy realizes he must outsmart the fiendishly clever Archie in order to win the fight.
The cinematography is very good with lush scenery and ladies, if you think you don't like men in skirts then I think you should check out Liam Neeson in and out of his kilt lol....
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Very good movie - the cast was great, and the story was very interesting. The accents were a little hard to understand at times, but it was good otherwise!
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Tim Roth was great, and there were some great music, and some good lines, but lots of other things didn't work.
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Top notch synchronization of the sword clashes-political backdrop,a perfect action/adventure film,possibly the best you can retrieve from mr. uneven Caton-Jones,Lang is a miscast but Roth is one of greatest bad guys of the 90's.An overall highly enjoyable (if pseudo-historical)… More
Top notch synchronization of the sword clashes-political backdrop,a perfect action/adventure film,possibly the best you can retrieve from mr. uneven Caton-Jones,Lang is a miscast but Roth is one of greatest bad guys of the 90's.An overall highly enjoyable (if pseudo-historical) flick,with that darn beautiful Highlands trademark and leftovers from Errol Flynn types of films.
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Liam Neeson embodies the title role with a quiet, intense dignity, a man who prefers domesticity to action. Tim Roth's Cunningham is the perfect, frightening villain.
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Poor mans Braveheart but excellent still
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The plight of the Highlanders is examined in this very slow moving film. The sword fight at the end is worth the price of admission.
Read all 18 featured audience ratings
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