A great summer flick for all you musket carrying Patriots.

Rating: Null/10 (11 July 2000)

Seems like the people making this film were trying to go for some big epic in the likeness of some other film about a war ravaged Mel. Though this film is quite excellent, I have to say that this film has some glaring flaws.
First of all I must say that the action scenes are very good. The first gun fight with Mel acting as an one man army was superb. And when you see a cannonball flying through the air, expect some type of appendage to fly off. Then after that, the scenes got duller and duller. Though maybe historically accurate, watching a whole bunch of guys line up like idiots to take turns shooting at each other is not that exciting and somewhat agonizing to watch when one realizes the stupidity. I guess nothing can really compare with hand to hand combat(especially with huge swords *hint hint*).
As for the story, it was executed in a decent manner. I loved the scenes in the beginning with all that father-son tension between Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger. However, when the second half of the film came rolling along, the cheese was laid on pretty thick and it started to stink bad. Though these scenes added a more light hearted tone at times, I felt it detracted from the dire tones of war.
In addition I must commend the actors for doing a fine job. I really had no trouble believing the father son relationship and the representation of the British villain by Jason Isaacs brought chills to my spine.

Overall, I would recommend this film to just about anybody except for those impressionable young kiddies. Though I wouldn't say that the action can compare to scenes from Gladiator or BraveHeart, I'd say they come pretty damn close. With an awesome soundtrack, flying limbs, a likeable protagonist and cold-hearted villain, I'd say prepare yourself for one intense ride.