A confusing muddle...

Rating: 5/10 (21 July 2002)

I sat down to watch this film, half-expecting that I would be made uncomfortable at facing up to some British history. I thought there might be the seeds of a debate about the extent to which we can be held accountable for the deeds of our forfathers.
In the end the guilty parties are those that justify this abomination of a film on the basis that it is *only* entertainment. The kind of cruelty and carnage portrayed in this film maybe have a place where they can be used to inform, but what kind of sick people would enjoy a film about the war of independence which has no historical basis whatsover and gets its kicks out of mutilation and vengeance? The people for whom this film was made I guess. Certainly I won't lose any sleep over this one, I just hope Mel Gibson does! 5/10