Flag-waving, "God-bless-America" epic; as well it should be!

Rating: Null/10 (23 January 2001)

"The Patriot" is one of those films that draws a line in the sand with no middle ground; you either love it or hate it. I loved it! This is one of those movies that John Wayne would have gave his left tooth to be in. Instead, we have Mel Gibson as our flag-waving hero, Benjamin Martin, a single father whose wife passed away a few years from something I didn't pick up on. A veteran of the French/Indian wars, he has seen the ugliness of battle and feels a sort of remorse for the tactics he used and the lives he had taken. Now owner of a plantation with indentured servants, not slaves, he doesn't want any of that to change, no matter that he is taxed unfairly. He is at peace with himself. However, his oldest son, played by Heath Ledger, is caught up in the fury that is building against the British and a resulting revolution. Benjamin forbids him from joining the cause, but being a teenager, he disobeys him and is soon joining the Army as a dispatcher. What follows is pure Hollywood patriotism. I only have 1000 word limit, and by now you've read other reviews here. Gibson does, for the most part, play it straight, i.e. brave and heroic. However, there are some parts that he shows his "Lethal Weapon"-style humor, i.e. cocky and audience-winking. The scene where he meets with Cornwallis, with the two Great Danes he captured in the first battle scene, is accurate in ways of Officer/Gentleman behavior during that time. But when he orders the dogs to sit or come or stay, is pure Mel (Reminds me of one scene in LW2 or 3 where Mel is schmoozing with another large dog who is about to attack him). Hilarious! The battle scenes are awesome and well-choreographed. Being from South Carolina, I appreciated the filmmakers for combining the actual Revolutionary war heroes Francis Marion (The Swamp Fox) and Thomas Sumter (The Gamecock) into the character Martin. America Rocks!