Morrill, a history professor at UNCCharlotte and consulting director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission, sides firmly with the Brits on that point. The movie's protagonist, Benjamin Martin, portrayed by Mel Gibson, is a fictionalized combination of several real-life patriots. Morrill found most of the movie a cartoonish caricature of history. But he also believes the film captured certain facts well and may help raise awareness of a neglected period. The characterization of the British is that they're all evil - that's insulting, it's ridiculous.
Nobody doubts that there was horrendous violence, that there was bloodthirstiness.
There was, on both sides. But there was not this noble patriot side and this heinous, evil British side. It was much more complicated than that. I'm really impressed with their mass battle scenes. The reason was these muskets were so horrendously inaccurate that they couldn't hit a barn door.