Not as good as Braveheart, but close.

Rating: 8/10 (15 November 2000)

This movie starts slow and takes awhile to build up steam, but thankfully it's not as long as Braveheart. It threatens to drag on too long and lingers on things like an obligatory romance here and there. There are also moments that are more bloody than necessary, I assume in order to attempt more authenticity. However, it read more like shock value.
Is it historically accurate? That would take a historian to confirm. It tells a good story, and builds a few chills of patriotic pride in any viewer with a courageous heart. The tale focuses on the battles of the revolutionary war, and how the Americans finally bested the British redcoats through what we would today call "guerrilla tactics." Actually such tactics were learned from Native Americans of this soil. It's an insult to Native Americans that they didn't focus more on that.
There are some powerful fight scenes, though none match the efforts of Braveheart. There are many opportunities for humor which help the slow points a bit. I enjoyed the show quite a bit and recommend it for anyone who enjoys Mel Gibson's performances, or anyone who likes war movies. I wish there were more movies which dealt with the Revolutionary War actually. Rene Auberjonois gives an exceptional performance as a priest. It is very much worth a rental.