overblown and overrated

Rating: 4/10 (30 June 2000)

Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, and Tom Wilkinson are great actors, but too many clichés and a heavy sentimentality keep The Patriot from being a good movie.
Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson), a plantation owner and hero of the French-Indian War, is pulled into the War of Independence when the British, led by the goon Col. Tavington, threaten his family, kill one of his sons, and burn down his home. Col. Tavington is a villain more fit for a Batman movie than a historical drama. He spends most of his time killing civilians and gives speeches before his fights, sort of like the folks on WWF.
The movie is too long, and one of the movie's sub-plots, a romance between Martin's son Gabriel and a local girl, made me cringe. Especially unbelievable was a wedding scene in a village of ex-slaves that felt like a remake of the Ewok's victory party at the end of Return of the Jedi.
Director Roland Emmerlich has no problem delivering a movie with great special effects and realistic battle scenes. Too bad he can't keep his movies from being corny.