A family caught in the current of great events

Rating: 9/10 (7 July 2000)

This is the story of a man whose family is the most important thing in his life. That family is threatened by the outbreak of revolution and war. From the perspective of 225 years we call this event the Revolutionary War, but it was fought like a civil war because most Americans of the day considered themselves Englishmen.
Mel Gibson is great as a man determined to hold his family together and keep it safe from the destruction of war. How well he succeeds or fails in this effort is what the film is all about.
If you are my age you will remember the 1961 Jimmy Stewart movie, Shenandoah, set in Virginia at the outbreak of the Civil War. Shenandoah deals with the same theme found in The Patriot. I always thought Shenandoah was Stewart's best film. Mel Gibson's performance in The Patriot rises to that same level and I think it should earn him an Academy Award.
Whatever comparisons you've heard involving The Patriot and Braveheart, forget them. Both films have great energy, sweep and thousands of extras but The Patriot tells a story to which every parent can relate. This is a film you must see. You will want to own it and see it often.
This film has it all - scope, thousands of extras and poignancy. So... if you've got 2 1/2 hours you don't know what to do with, go see The Patriot.