Better than you think

Rating: 10/10 (9 July 2000)

I have heard much of how this movie was either hated or loved. Those who disliked it state their arguments firmly.
My turn.
This movie was not about the Revolutionary War-- it's about the strength of family amongst a background of war. Every human emotion is displayed. The human spirit soars in this picture. As for everyone complaining about historical inaccuracies, this picture is a piece of art, of entertainment, not an educational tool. (I did observe, however, that "The Patriot" contained the smallest detail in that the British never use the term "aim", as the Americans do, which is historically accurate. So I would not discredit this movie for being flawed. The movie-makers for this one knew what they were doing.)
But while everyone else is picking out imperfections, look for its strong points: direction-10, music-10, acting-10, special effects-10, and the story, most of all-11.
(!!!---Mild Spoiler---!!!) This is a story from the eyes of an American, a patriot named Benjamin Martin. In his eyes, blacks are treated fairly, as depicted in the film. War is brutal, as depicted. The British are character-less walking killing machines, as depicted. So don't look at the larger picture, see it through Mel's eyes! See the war as we would if we were living there in South Carolina at the time.
(!!!---If you haven't seen this movie, read no more, this is the SPOILER OF SPOILERS---!!!)Another uncomfortable grudge that we hold against the film is that Heath Ledger's character is killed. But he had to die. He fought to keep a cause alive; he never once fought for himself. Benjamin Martin, as pacifist as he was, could very well have forgiven the British for killing Thomas, his second son. (Since he is not William Wallace this time, he wouldn't need to hack down 1000 Englishmen and invade a country to get revenge.) The writer killed Martin's first son (Ledger) to keep that burning hate for the British alive on the part of the audience and for Martin. Any exaggerated passions that the movie displays is because our very own patriot saw it that way.
All in all, I believe this is the best movie I've seen in a long while, much better than some think. This movie is as brutal as it is so that we as Americans, can stop taking what we have for granted and see what we had to do in order to earn our status as the best country in the world. Every American should see this picture.
Roland Emmerich, Mel Gibson, and Heath Ledger--Oscar wishes to you all.