Not the best Gibson film, but a classic still.

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2004)

`The Patriot' is a great film with a little bit of everything. The acting is good, especially from Mel Gibson. The special effects are pretty recent, making for a great battle scene or two. It's historically accurate, so it's even educational to a certain degree, and it's very authentic feeling. It's not Gibson's best film, and there's a boring moment or two, but overall this is a great film that I highly recommend.
The most noticeable thing about this film is the authentic feel it gives off from start to finish. The costumes and buildings and sailboats and war tactics and everything else are very impressive, and really do the job of transporting you to the Revolutionary War. The film was shot on location in South Carolina, and there are some really beautiful scenery shots. I hear the costumes were all copies from authentic ones lent from the Smithsonian, and they certainly seem like it. They acting isn't always of the best quality, but it does make you feel like you're really seeing the past through this film.
This is basically a war film, but the war was very well chosen. The reason for war films is to make you realize how terrible war is so that you will be educated enough to avoid them should that power ever come to you. It has to do with the old saying `If we forget history, we are doomed to repeat it.' The problem with most war films is that they are not very entertaining, since really they should not be. `The Patriot' does function as a War film, especially since it puts an emphasis on how negatively it affects family, but it also seems to function as your basic tearjerker as well, and it does pretty well in both departments.
There are four scenes that really go for the tears in this film, and I think I have cried during all four at one time or another. One especially involving the main character's daughter gets me every time. There is a bit of good humor now and then, but mostly there's just an overwhelming sense of dread the whole film that builds up to these horribly emotional scenes. It's very enjoyable, if you like that kind of thing.

Jason Isaacs plays the bad guy in this film, and he does a terrific job of it. He is ruthless and terrible and you hate him so much that it really makes the movie important for you. His performance is very noticeable, along with Gibson's, though Heath Ledger's may have been over-rated.
The battles are great, utilizing the best combination of extras and CGI to be seen for a while. They do get moderately bloody, but that's to be expected in a war film, and there isn't any language or sex at all. Though there are too few battles for this to be called an action movie, but when it does come it comes in spades. The only real problem with this movie is that it is a bit on the long side, and tends to drag in one or two areas. These spots aren't horrible, though, and don't take away from the rest of the film. If you aren't into the whole emotional aspects of movies, it's still good as long as you don't mind a few additional boring scenes. I would defiantly recommend this movie to you, whatever you expect in movies, as long as it isn't comedy.