The First Great Revolutionary War Film!

Rating: 9/10 (10 July 2000)

Considering the amount of time and money that Hollywood has invested in chronicling America's other wars on film, it is surprising that it has taken nearly a century to create the first great film about the Revolutionary War. The Patriot is a stirring epic that is historically accurate while remaining thoroughly entertaining (what happens to Martin's family actually happened to a number of the signers of the Declaration). Mel Gibson gives one of his strongest performances as Benjamin Martin, a widower and former war hero who strives to protect his family from the horrors of war. And as his son, Gabriel, Heath Ledger comes into his own following the promise he showed in his breakthrough performance in "10 Things I Hate About You" The acting is uniformly strong, the effects terrific, and the visuals gorgeous. While the film is weighted down by a couple of clichÃ©d themes (the black man fighting for his freedom and the white man who learns to respect him for doing so...I don't know if there was a certain amount of irony intended in this, but even so, it's a pointless sub-theme). While there are some gory war scenes, "The Patriot" is really an honest love story between a father and his family, and is well worth the admission price.