The Fight For Freedom Has Never Looked So Good . . .

Rating: Null/10 (12 July 2000)

Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger play father and son freedom fighters Benjamin and Gabriel Martin in this summer's blockbuster The Patriot.
The Patriot is about a man who refuses to get involved in the American Revolutionary War after seeing his share of bloodshed during the French and Indian Wars. It is not until his oldest son enlists and his 15-year-old son is murdered by a truly worthless excuse for a gentlemanly British officer (Jason Isaacs) that he joins the fight.
The battles are epic, as we would expect from a movie released almost exactly a week before July 4, and the story is relatively familiar ground. The film is saved by the spectacular job done by the whole cast, especially Gibson and Ledger, two Aussie's who do a fine job pretending to be Americans. It's all about acting.