Historical quibbles aside-- a wonderful, and mostly accurate, historical movie!

Rating: 10/10 (1 July 2000)

A lot of TV time has been given to historians and other scholars criticing this movie, a bit, for some of its "factual" lapses. Benjamin Martin, the Mel Gibson character, was really Somebody Else Martin-- an actual historical figure of that time known as the "Swamp Fox." Kicked a lot of English butt, and was a hero of his generation. As mores and values change over time, dramatic devices and details must also change to evoke the same feelings in the audiences of future generations.
That is, what might have thrilled the 18th and 19th century Americans to hero worship might now merely bore or even appall. Thus a few "facts" must be changed for dramatic purposes-- Martin is now NOT a slave holder, was goaded by personal tragedy inflicted by the English, etc. But this does represent, perhaps, the same feelings. Thus, while the facts of the history might be a little bit different here and there, the realities for the people actually involved, their feelings, and thus the real lives of those depicted, is in reality very true, and very correct. This might have been what the author of the book this was based on meant when he said recently: "I don't let the facts get in the way of the truth" (or something close to that).
From a Hollywood standpoint-- a good movie or not, etc., this is top notch entertainment. And all the hub-bub over facts notwithstanding, much of the period was actually displayed quite accurately-- the movie was shot in the same locales as many of the events of 1776-1781. The uniforms, guns, and tactics of the opposing sides were also accurately shown-- much of the technical expertise coming from historians and "re-enactors," folks who devote years of their lives to reproducing the military look and behaviors of historical periods.
In case some people wonder about Mel Gibson playing an early American patriot in the movie-- is there anyone left who doesn't yet know that Gibson was born and raised in the good ol' USA? He only went to high school and college in Australia, consciously learning and adopting an Australian accent to avoid being beaten by his teenaged Australian hosts. Upon returning to America, his accent has been flushed away, leaving his original New York state American standard inflection.
You might see a bit of "Braveheart" in some of the action. Hey-- when all is said and done, this IS a movie. I am curious about one thing-- Do the English allow Mel Gibson movies to be shown unedited in their country? Just wondering, given the rather unflattering portrayals of them Gibson has brought to the screen. I gave this flick a 10 out of 10. Go see it, you'll love it!