Rating: 
Summary: Braveheart Part Two?
Review: This is another movie about the common man rising to lead his people in a fight for freedom, but also because he wants to get revenge and settle a personal score. But don't condemn it for that -- It reflects the conservative ideals that American freedom was originally based on. Your country you serve second, because you and your family come first. And who wants a war?It's bloody (midway between Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan) and the story is pretty historically inaccurate, but you'll still have a great time enjoying it if you take it for what it's worth. Remember, Hollywood isn't known for sacrificing entertainment value for the sake of our personal edification. But on that note, it is very entertaining and easy to get into.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good, but not great, Revolutionary War film
Review: There have been far too few films made about the American Revolution. Given this, "The Patriot" ought to be commended just for showing a period of American history that has been virtually ignored by Hollywood. Basically, I've found that people who view this type of film fall into two groups: those who expect near-perfect historical accuracy and love to "nitpick" such films apart; and those who go see such films for the entertainment they provide and leave the history (as they should) to a good history book. If you fall into the former category then you probably hated (or will hate, if you've never seen it) this film, as it's only loosely based on actual historical events, and often wildly exaggerates the "real" history it depicts. On the other hand, if you fall (as I do) into the last category, then you'll find "The Patriot" to be a beautifully filmed, well-acted and action-filled war film that's as good as anything that was shown in 2000. The fact is that Hollywood, with VERY rare exceptions, often takes liberties with historical events, which is why movies like "The Patriot" should only serve to encourage people to read more about events like the American Revolution, and not simply rely on the movie itself for their views of history. Some people have accused this film of being a ripoff of "Braveheart", but if so it's a darn good ripoff! The battle scenes are among the best and most accurate ever filmed - cannonballs are seen to bounce along the ground and crash into troops like bowling pins, and the battlefield tactics shown in the movie are faithful to actual Revolutionary War battles. Where "The Patriot" does fall short in the history department is it's politically-correct view of slavery, as the "slaves" on Mel Gibson's plantation aren't slaves at all, but actually happily "hired" help. Addtionally, the British forces depicted in the movie commit horrific acts that the real British forces never committed in the war, such as burning down an entire American village with the villagers trapped inside a church, which is also deliberately set ablaze by the ruthless British commander. Although the British did hang suspected American spies from trees in village squares to intimidate other villagers, and although they did burn down people's homes and occassionally shoot American soldiers who tried to surrender in battle, there is no recorded instance of the British deliberately burning colonists alive. The film's plot is simple: Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a "hero" of the brutal French and Indian War whose bloody exploits against the French led him to give up fighting and settle down on a peaceful farm in the Carolina backcountry. By the start of the Revolution he is a widower with four children. He refuses to fight in the war and proclaims neutrality, but his enthusiastic oldest son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) joins General Washington's Army over his father's objections. When the fighting finally reaches the Carolina backcountry, Martin is forced into the war when an arrogant and ruthless British cavalry commander, Colonel Tavington, burns down his farm and kills one of his younger sons. Martin forms a band of guerilla fighters who strike at the British from the Carolina woods and swamps and vanish before the British can catch them (earning him the nickname "The Ghost" from the frightened British troops). Eventually, Martin and Tavington meet in battle with, apparently, the entire future of the Revolution (and the United States) at stake. My chief problem with this film has less to do with its' historical inaccuracies than with its length. Like "Braveheart", this film simply goes on for too long, and the producers could easily have cut a half-hour to 45 minutes of film without missing a beat. But, overall, "The Patriot" is a great action film about a much-neglected era of American history. And if it encourages the viewer to read more about this period, then so much the better.
Rating: 
Summary: An Embarrassment and a Waste of Time
Review: I've had conversations with hand puppets that have been more stimulating. I love the PC-correct slaves "our master pays us" and the mute daughter "Poppa!" The scene where Gibosn makes the faulty chair while all the slaves and family watch thru the slats is truly sad. Ridiculous, redundant and reprehensible. Remember when Mel Gibson made good movies? Where have you gone Mad Max?
Rating:
Summary: Skip the director's commentary
Review: I feel that one of the best features of DVDs is the director's commentary about the movie. Unfortunately, like, kinda, like, Roland, you know, Emmerich, is like kinda totally unable to complete a coherent sentence. Every sentence he utters has at least one of his pet phrases, and usually all three of them repeatedly. Somebody should have given him a script to follow. His speech habits render the commentary useless. He spent so much time saying kinda-like-you-know that by the time he finally made a point I couldn't stand to listen anymore.
Rating:
Summary: Let-down of Heroic proportion
Review: American Patiotism (curiously delivered by a pair of Australians as the main characters)at its most flag-waving rabid. Stereotypical British (to be more exact, ENGLISH) red-coated villains. I've enjoyed Mel Gibson movies in the past, and even enjoyed some facets of this film, but I'm beginning to sense an Anglophobic trend to some of these "historical" movies...and what a shame it is. This sort of film, sadly enough, is historically uneducating America.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good scenes, some bad ones.
Review: This is definitely a Hollywood treatment of an important historical era. This movie shines in its battle scenes and its treatment of patriotism. The colonials won this war because they were fighting for their homes and for their freedom. In other words, they wanted it more and were willing to sacrifice more than the British soldiers. This film shows this aspect of the war very well. On the other hand, I am disgusted by the treatment of the main character. If Hollywood has to have Mel Gibson play an all good man, then he never should have been cast in this movie. When the black people working on Gibson's character's land claimed they weren't slaves, but worked on the land on their own accord, I just about flipped over. Come on! This was 18'th century South Carolina and land owners such as Gibson's character owned slaves in that time. At the end, these same blacks were willing to rebuild the family's house to help "build the new nation". Who are they kidding? Black folks of that time had no place in the "new nation" except as slaves. This movie is a slap in the face to African-Americans. By the way, in case you are wondering, I am a white male.
Rating: 
Summary: Much better than Braveheart!
Review: Here is a real story that doesn't seem to run in circles like Braveheart. All I can say is when I first watched Braveheart I became bored fast. This movie kept me interested and entertained throughout the entire film! My only complaint is that they didn't go through with making this a movie about Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, because as I understand that was the original idea but the story got changed too much. Well, it's still great but every time they called him the Ghost it upset me a bit because I wanted them to call him Swamp Fox. Great movie though! Much more watchable than Braveheart!
Rating:
Summary: Wow!!
Review: This movie was amazing to me! Of course, any movie with Mel Gibson would be amazing, and Heath Ledger, although young, shows great potential! This is a must-see movie, and I'm very disappointed that it wasn't nominated for more Oscars! I have to admit that I haven't seen it on DVD, but I can't wait! Don't hesitate, this is a GREAT MOVIE!
Rating:
Summary: Very good movie! Highly Recommened!! But a quick question?
Review: The Patriot is one of my favorite movies. Very good, and if you're still thinking about buying the DVD, just do it! The added features on this and other DVD's are great. This movie has a good story line and the battle scenes are awesome. And my quick question? Why does this webstore list the release date as 6/19/2001 when this movie was released on 10/24/2000 on DVD, that was last year folks! I already have my special edition DVD of The Patriot that I got last year. Can't this webstore get their information straight!
Rating:
Summary: "Braveheart" at the Battle of Cowpens!
Review: "The Patriot," starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Chris Cooper, Jason Isaacs, and Tom Wilkinson, is a film that's well acted and sumptuously produced, although not particularly historically accurate. It tells the heroic story of how one man's attitude toward the war slowly ensnaring him and his family changed from one of indifference to fervent patriotism; a tale of how a stolid family man and pillar of his community became an impassioned leader of men in battle, and, ultimately, a hero to his nation's cause. I enjoyed every aspect of this superb film. Mel Gibson turns in another characteristically fine performance as Colonel Benjamin Martin. Gibson portrays the movie's protagonist as a man of contradictions: gentle with his children, yet possessed with an almost demonic violent streak; a stolid, almost stoic family man capable of demonstrating great passion for the cause he so deeply believes in; a man of great honor who will not hesitate to stoop to less than honorable means to achieve his goals; and a man tortured by a dark secret in his past. One other particularly noteworthy performance must be mentioned here: that of Jason Isaacs as the pathologically evil Colonel William Tavington. With his icy blue eyes and clipped, uppercrust British accent, Isaacs imbues his deliciously evil character with ramrod-straight military bearing, stuffily aristocratic swagger, and overweening pomposity, making him the kind of arch-villian easy for viewers to hate passionately. Heart-pounding action abounds in "The Patriot." Battle scenes are well choreographed and employ just the right amount of bloody realism, without succumbing to gratuitous sanguinary violence. Some viewers may find themselves a bit squeamish at a couple of points in the film; however, those scenes of gore are necessary and pass by very quickly. If there is one area in "The Patriot" deserving of criticism, it's the apparent lack of an original idea. It appears to me that "The Patriot" relied too heavily upon another wildly popular Mel Gibson vehicle - "Braveheart" - for its inspiration. Indeed, the similarities between the themes in these two films are so striking that they cannot be coincidence! In both films, the protagonist - already a hero to his people - has ambivalent feelings toward violence. Only a heart-shattering event resulting in a deep personal loss is capable of changing the protagonist's mind about fighting the enemy of his people. Once committed, however, the hero becomes an impassioned, almost zealous, exponent of his cause. I would have liked to see "The Patriot's" screen writers rely a bit more on an original story line. It would have made an already entertaining film even better. For lovers of great action movies and fans of Mel Gibson: don't miss "The Patriot!" It's first-rate entertainment all the way!
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