Patriot is Excellent

Rating: Null/10 (1 July 2000)

I read many favorable reviews of the film The Patriot, but also a number of unfavorable ones. Most of the unfavorable reviews were from [1] left wing diehards with an ideological axe to grind, [2] the British, [3] pseudo-sophisticated movie critic wanna-bes who hate the movies most Americans love, and vice versa. It is understandable that many non-Americans might be more enthralled with Gladiator. But even they will enjoy the excellent acting, cinematography, score, realistic effects, etc. And most Americans film goers will love Mel Gibson and The Patriot as much or more than Russell Crowe's captivating performance in Gladiator. Historically speaking, virtually all of the characters and events seen in The Patriot can be found somewhere in the details of the documented history of our Revolutionary War. The film wanted to highlight as many of these experiences as possible by compressing them into the life of one man, Benjamin Martin, whose character was loosely based on the actual patriot and revolutionary war hero, Francis Marion. Don't let the negative critics scare you away from this film. I wondered as I watched The Patriot if they had even seen the same movie that I had. It is gratifying as we enter our July the Fourth festivities to be reminded so powerfully of the sacrifices our forefathers made as they fought for their families and their freedom. My wife actually described seeing this film as "a life changing experience." Some complain that the theme of The Patriot is too similar to Braveheart. They seem to overlook that it was not just the screenplay, but actual history that inspired Braveheart, The Patriot, Spartacus, Gladiator, and many other films of this genre. I think I may go see it again, and, even though I rarely purchase a movie on videotape, I definitely will be buying the Patriot for my small home film library.