Patriotic Formula.

Rating: 6/10 (16 July 2015)

The Patriot (2000): Dir: Roland Emmerich / Cast: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper: Epic portrait of a man who cannot escape the violence around him. Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a farmer in South Carolina 1776 who served as a veteran in the French and Indian wars. He is reluctant to serve until a ruthless Colonel shoots his youngest son. This fills him with a desire for revenge resulting in a conventional climax. Fine setup becomes repetitious. Directed by Roland Emmerich who made such noise as Independence Day and Godzilla. Gibson becomes known as "the Ghost" after he hacks up twenty or so soldiers but it is obvious that he will kick ass on the Colonel in a dense scene lacking any sense of feeling. Superb performance by Heath Ledger as his revenge hungry son whose fate becomes another punch in the face to an audience not in the mood. Joely Richardson is featured as Gibson's wife in what results in the most standard role in the film. Jason Isaacs has the misfortune of portraying a stereotypical Colonel who gets his in the end. Chris Cooper is another fine actor laboring under flat material playing a commanding officer. The film is well made visually but would have been better with a rewrite knocking out the conventions. The film asks questions regarding how far is too far with violence? Score: 6 / 10