Best Movie of the Summer!

Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2000)

To call "The Patriot" director Roland Emerich's best film ever is to damn with faint praise. When all you have to compare with is tripe like "Stargate" and "Godzilla" and the entertaining-but-forgettable "Independence Day," to call it the best of the bunch is not saying much.
But "The Patriot" is, in fact, an outstanding film. All that "Gladiator" wanted to be and wasn't, "The Patriot" is. A moving, engaging story about a conflict that is worth letting yourself become involved in. Where the villain in "Gladiator" was simply weird and creepy, the villain here is truly villainous, and presents a worthy foe for the hero.
The movie finds exactly the right balance between action and emotion, owing largely to Mel Gibson (now starring in the two best movies of the summer, "The Patriot" and "Chicken Run"), Heath Ledger and the absolutely gorgeous Lisa Brennan. Great performances, great action, great story...what's not to like?