Outstanding!!!But.....

Rating: 9/10 (15 July 2000)

This is a VERY good film. Mel is perfectly cast as the troubled father trying to come to grips with his wife's passing, and with some terrible ghosts of his own. All the while trying to hold on to the most important thing in his life. His family. I went to see this fully expecting to see another jingoistic, sabrerattlin',AMERICAN movie. Thankfully, I was surprised. Mel and Heath sucked you into their lives and hung on. The cliche's were there(cruel British commanders, traitors, cowards,etc)but they never pulled you too far off course. The battle scenes were terrifying and the supporting characters, though not, in some cases , well developed, they still worked for the film in a whole. I did however find the the final confrontation with the "evil" British colonel a little over done. There battle seemed better suited for a Lethal Weapon movie than a Revolutionary War epic. It seemed a little contrived and tacked on. So we can have one more cheer for the hero and satisfy our own need to see vengeance. Only a small negative note. I hope that the American goverment will give Roland Emmerich a citizenship now. After ID4 and now The Patriot, I think he deserves one.