Enjoyable

Rating: Null/10 (19 May 2001)

Explosions, Gunfire, and heads being ripped off by cannon balls and plot of course. The Patriot has everything that a good war film needs and is an excellent war film in my book. The Patriot is such a great film because it boldly asks: What would you be willing to sacrifice for freedom? Though it is not the absolute best film I have ever seen I still think it deserves more credit than it earned when it came out. The Patriot shows how battles were fought in that time period and how the Brittish were defeated by using the militia forces. In a way it was one of the first times that guerilla warfare was used.
The movie begins shorty after the decloration of independance is signed and the American Revelution begins. The movie just gets better and better after that point. Mel Gibson is excellent in his role as Ben Martin who is based on an actual person who fought the American Revelution known as the Swamp Fox. Not only was Mel Gibson great in this film but also the supporting charecters gave an honest effort too. I was especially impressed with Heath Ledger's performance as Martin's son Gabriel. It was nice to see him in a serious role and I see big things for him in the future. All he really needs to work on is hiding his accent. A few times in the movie, his Australian accent kind of just came out of no where.
One element in The Patriot that many say cheapened the film's quality was Colenol Tavington who serves as the villain. In some ways he did cheapen the film just a little mostly because his actions and life throughout the film were imbellished. But you must understand that he was also based on a real person who was basically like a Brittish version of Adolf Hitler.

One thing that many say cheapened the movie and took away from the power was it's somewhat overwhelming similarity to Brave Heart. That is partly true but it didn't really ruin the movie that badly. This may not have been a problem if they had cast someone other than Mel Gibson in it but Gibson has a curtain presence in these types of films that cannot be matched by any other actor. Some how I don't think that it would have been as good had they cast Russel Crowe instead. I mean don't get me wrong, Crowe is great and all but this role some how seems just right for someone like Mel Gibson.
All in all this movie deserves an 9.89 for realism, but points had to be taken off due to the striking resemblance to Brave Heart. The Patriot will leave you with a feeling of more patriotism then you can imagine ever having. My suggestion is watch it on the 4th of July and then go out in your backyard and hanging an American flag on the side of your house. Then cook some burgers on your grill and watch some fireworks. The Patriot is about men who sacrificed more than they could bear and must be remembered.