Long winded but not unworthy

Rating: 6/10 (10 August 2000)

If you are not an American and/or an American history buff, you are sure to think this movie is a tad too long and laboured. This is not to say that the piece is unskillful or without merit. It certainly is. Direction, cinematography and the sheer grand scale of the battle scenes make it well worth the ticket price. Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger manage their roles tolerably well, but in the end are let down by the extreme length of the film and cannot sustain our interest. It succumbs too often to cheap sentimentalism and formula plotting for this reviewer's tastes. If it had been a little lighter on the glossy glory of a nation fighting for its freedom and a bit more gritty in its approach, it would have won my heart completely.