Seriously...did everyone *really* miss the point!

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2005)

I heard it called everything from "mindless dribble" to a "masterpiece of cinematography". My favourites are that it's "anti-English", which is laughable as it honours one of England's most cherished legends.
990 reviews (I'm sure there were more but this seems to be the limit)and only 5 have even come close to evaluating what this movie was *really* about.
For the 985 other reviews (who apparently failed Literature 101), I'll let you in on the writer's little secret. What "The Patriot" is, is a clever, metaphoric, adaptation of "Robin Hood"...plan and simple.
It was so obvious to me that I can't understand how, in five years, no one has pointed it out before (exception: Kledge - 22 July 2000).
Let me Cliff Note the sub-plot for you (Sorry, I won't be as clever as Sid in "Sleep With Me")...
Benjamin Martin (Mel) is Robin of Locksley, Charlotte Selton is Maid Marian (as was -to a lesser extent- Anne Howard/Martin), Gabriel is Will Scarlett
Come on...John Billings is so obviously Little John (complete with the same family he had in "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves") ...the list goes on and on, they even have a Friar Tuck!
I mean seriously...the Spanish Church is obviously Sherwood Forest... they even mount "steal from the rich" raids. And, the rescue of Robin's men (err...I mean Martin's men)...straight from the Robin Hood legend.
And, for you 400 whiney royalist, who complained about how "unfair" the movie was to the "historic accuracy" of the British army....whaaa, whaaa, whaaa! Col. William Tavington was not portraying a historic Dragoon Captain, he was portraying Sir Guy of Gisborne. He was an evil SnOB because *Gisborne* is an evil and ruthless character. If you're comparing historic accuracies, use Robin Hood lore, not Revolutionary War history! ...and then, don't bother. Metaphors are the spice not the main course.
That they were able to weave this into a totally different period piece as nothing short of remarkable.
Bottom line, it's an entertaining, *multi-level*, movie. A Mel Gibson movie. If you're looking for a documentary, go watch the History Channel.