Paul Parsons (paulparsons2)

15 years on, this film still packs a huge punch which is down to Gibson's exceptional work behind the camera. As he has continued to prove since then, the guy knows how to tell a story.

Whilst the story pays lip service to historical accuracy, it is really besides the point. Where the film succeeds is in capturing the spirit of rebellion and the concept of freedon. Up front Gibson does a pretty good scottish accent but he mostly relies on his physical presence to drive Wallace. As per nornal, he is on great form. The rest of the supporting cast are equallly good and they create some memorable characters who we want to follow. Patrick McGoohan in particular makes a pretty great icy king who is a nasty piece of work.

The action and battle sequences are where this film really scores. Even now they are gripping and more importantly they are visceral and exciting. The fact that Gibson acheived this all in camera with no CGI shows what can be done practically. It is jaw droppingly good and puts all of the more recent swords and sandals flicks to shame. Whilst the big battles are awesome, my favourite is the intial sequences where Wallace is pushed into action for the first time. The immediacy and brutality displayed sets the scene perfectly for what is to follow.

Gibson shows real directing chops with this film, he knows how to set up the odds and delivers on the films premise.

Anarchic, dark and funny, Clark Gregg has done a pretty solid job of bringing Chuck Palahnuck's story to the screen.

Sam Rockwell equals a perfect Victor. You can't help but root for the guy whilst he indulges in his addictions, knowing full well that it can come to no good. He makes him likeable and someone to root for which given what he gets up to is a pretty impressive feat. Excellent work from Sam as per usual.

What I really appreciated was how the key aspects of the book have been captured so effectively within 90 minutes. All of the quirky aspects of the story which I loved in the book (the jerk boss for example) are all present and help to make this a really fun film.

Great story, acting and direction, this is a goodie..

Words cannot do justice to how great this film is. The story is perfect, the cast are fabulous and this is a rare film which gets funnier with every viewing. The role of the dude is one of the coolest out there and Jeff Bridges clearly knows he's onto a good thing and gives us what I feel is one of the most memorable characters of the last couple of decades. Still my fav Coen brothes flick. "Be careful man, there's a beverage here!!"

As a prequel to the events depicted in the TV series Twin Peaks, this is a scarily good film. At this stage, fans of the TV show already have an understanding of what happened to Laura Palmer, this film covers the last week of her life and you get to see what you have only previously heard about. This is deeply disturbing material with a very menacing tone from the outset which increases as events unfold. The cast are all excellent, especially Ray Wise. Watching him in this film in comparison to the TV show is very unsettling. There are plenty of "Lynchian" moments in the film and his use of sound is nothing short of masterful. This is a very rare film that genuinely unnerves me everytime I watch it.