Rating: 
Summary: Patriot
Review: This is such a moving film. Graphic and honest, full of history and good characters. The plot and pacing are great. Top notch performances. Excellent film. So inspiring, leaves you with such respect for our forefathers. I allowed my 9 year old son to watch this despite the violence, because the story was so beautiful and this is such an important time in the history of our country.
Rating: 
Summary: Camaraderie, The Love of Family, and The One Man Army
Review: One can easily discuss the negative aspects of "The Patriot." The film is not historically accurate; its main character (played by Mel Gibson) is an utterly perfect and flat character that has no visible faults and is somehow able to articulate the ideas of freedom better than the framers of the Constitution; the film is slanted towards the American side, portraying the British in an overtly negative light; the blacks and French are underplayed and stereotyped; etc. But to conclude that the film has no worth based upon these points is ridiculous. One must step back from the film and ask, "Was I entertained? Did the movie hit upon some things that made me think? Feel?""The Patriot" is certainly an enjoyable film visually. The battle scenes are terrific and provide a plenty of visual and emotional interest-an aspect that is surprising with its long pans and relatively slow camera angles. The scene in which Gibson first "re-enters" his warrior mode and almost single-handedly takes on a British regiment of twenty soldiers has some spectacular hatchet fighting and hand combat choreography. This scene alone makes the film worth watching for any lover of guerilla tactics or knife fighting/close combat. On top of the action, the screenplay is quite clever in parts, despite its tendency towards the sentimental. Mel Gibson's performance seems very much like a continuation of his role in "Braveheart"-one can hardly notice a difference in the characters. But he plays this part well, the part of a man who alone can save a country from the oppressive enemy. In the scenes where he deals with the loss of his family his acting is moving and quite believable. There is much to dislike in this picture. If one is upset by the historical inaccuracies, I ask why they are looking to Hollywood to fill them in on American history. Writing a film that satisfied all of the points mentioned above would not only be an impossibility-it would be boring and lack any appeal. This movie tells the story of a man who fights for his family and, in doing this, for a new country and an ideal. While the love stories seem contrived and thrown in, the love of family, the love of brotherhood and camaraderie, and the incredible action all make this an excellent film.
Rating:
Summary: Movie review or political statement page?
Review: Perhaps ones political views about Mr. Gibson would be better discussed elsewhere people. I loved the movie and have watched it several times. I'd recommend it to everyone, Gibson fans or bashers. Also, the soundtrack is beautiful and is also highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Weak
Review: This was a weak movie for the fact I found the acting very wooden and Mel Gibson let me down after scaling the heights with Braveheart.
Rating:
Summary: Awful, just awful!
Review: Okay, the good bits first: the cinematography and the costumes. The bad bits: everything else. Braveheart was hugely enjoyable tosh; this film is JUST tosh. It retains the nauseating sentimentality of Braveheart and throws in a ludicrous screenplay and terrible dialogue for good measure. Watch this and tell me if you can see the difference between Mel and the chairs he keeps breaking. Want a clue? He's slightly more animated than they are, but their acting is better. If you want a good action epic skip this and get Braveheart instead!
Rating:
Summary: You Love it, or you hate--I LOVE IT! The Patriot Rules!!!!
Review: I just read about 50 reviews that are here, and I feel compelled to write something myself. Allow me to apologize ahead of time for not being a great writer, I'm not sure I'll be able to express what I truly want to say, but I'll try. All of you who keep complaining about the film being historically inaccurate don't say where it is you got your information about the Revolution and the colonial time period. So, just so you all know where I'm coming from, I'm a father of 3 children, I'm a full-time musician in a symphony orchestra (I'm going to talk about the music in the film), my wife works at a living-history museum, and I read lots of books about the American Revolution. Am I an historian or an expert on the Am. Rev.? No. When reading history or talking to historians about this time period, there are differing "opinions" about many things, so even amongst historians there is not agreement about many things that went on during this time. So blanket statements about historical inaccuracies in this film are, well, inaccurate.
Many reviewers seem to be bothered by slavery issues in the film, and I agree that in an effort to present B. Martin in the best light that they go overboard--he doesn't own slaves, he doesn't want to fight, he's the perfect father, and he single-handedly wins the rev war in the south. There were African-Americans that were "freed men", and were not slaves during this time period--that's truth. Was this prevailant in the South? No. But it is possible, so it isn't historically inaccurate to show this. (Also, at the Cowpens battle, notice that there are many more African Americans in the British ranks than in the American, this is to someone else who wrote that they didn't show more blacks fighting for the Brits, and actually, they did). To me, these things are the "Hollywood" part of the film, but it's not the essence of the film. What IS historically accurate is the sacrifice our ancestors made to create this nation. In wars, people bleed and people die. This movie makes it up close and personal--can't take it?--don't watch it. To me it took away some of the unreal feeling I had for that war, which is good (one should never think that war is clean or fun). I didn't think enough about the blood and reality of it. Now I do. Also, everyone knows that boys knew how to shoot guns back then and that they fought in the war. The scene where Nathan and Samuel shoot and kill redcoats helping their father to free Gabriel at first made me think, God this is so wrong!, but on second and third viewing of the film the fact that Samuel is crying when it's over seems correct, and again drives home this point of the hellishness of war. It's awful! If a kid had to do this, he would be in shock, and that's what this shows. It's gut-wrenching, and it's great. Again, it shows the reality of war, and it's gross. No one should ever forget this (especially me).
His character is heroic and somewhat twisted. But, notice in the "hacking" scene where he is chopping up the British soldier in the creekbed, that he is yelling, AND crying. Why is he crying? Because his son Thomas was shot and killed, his farm was burned to the ground, and his life seemed ruined. He's caught up completely in his own anger,sorrow and desire for revenge, it's unbelievably intense, and the music in this spot is incredible, as it is throughout the entire movie.
As to the music. It's not a John Williams score that stands on it's own as well as Star Wars, ET, or Indiana Jones, but the music fits the action and creates an amazingly super-charged emotional backdrop for the film. Like the "hero" theme during the battle of Cowpens where Martin picks up the flag and yells "no retreat" and then makes his way up the steps and waves the flag. Of course an historian told me that this is not the way the battle of Cowpens was won, but who cares? It's incredible cinema, and my favorite scene in the movie. It's breathtaking, and stirs patriotism in the souls of most Americans. The same theme plays earlier when he yells charge and leads the militia up the hill and he flips over the Brit soldier carrying the flag. "Susan speaks" is another phenomenal example of the power of the music in this movie. What father wasn't hiding tears in the theatre when Susan finally spoke to Benjamin as he was leaving the Gulla colony to go back to the war saying, "Papa! Don't go, I'll say anything, just don't go."? This from a daughter who had said nothing to her father her entire life until then (holy crap, I'm shedding a few tears now!). Wow. The "Coplandesque" music that occurs when Gabriel is recruiting men for the militia is also perfect for the scene. And last but not least, the eerie trumpet theme that's played when dealing with Benjamin's twisted side is nothing short of genius. I highly recommend the cd as well, which I own.
The movie is visually stunning as well, from the military uniforms to the computer generated scenes and effects. I love the French ships at Yorktown, to me it feels like I'm really there.
The entire movie is an emotional roller coaster. It really puts me through the ringer, and I love it! I saw it six times in the theatre ( I've never seen a movie more than twice in a theatre prior to this), and I own both the video and DVD, and have watched it quite a few times at home.
Anyone who loves the American Revolution should love this film. Those boyhood dreams of the bluecoats fighting the redcoats, old flintlock muskets being fired, fifes and drums being played and astounding acts of heroism are all there. The hero is not just a hero on the battlefield, but with and to his family, which is really what makes this movie so special for me. The emotional impact is stunning. It is my favorite movie of all time.
One last thing. After getting into The Patriot and hearing people gripe that it was Braveheart a few hundred years later, I rented Braveheart and watched it twice, and I personally see almost no resemblance (sp?). It's all opinion, and in this great land we can all express our opinions, and there's mine.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just Bad But Indecent
Review: One of the most immoral movies of recent memory, not simply because it distorts crucial history and manipulates emotions in a way that cheapens them, but because of its breathtakingly gratuitous violence. The protagonist, whom we are supposed to admire, in front of his young son hacks to death another man and continues hacking until he, the protagonist, is himself covered in blood. This is not heroism but psychosis.
Rating:
Summary: More Gibson fundamentofascism
Review: What a vile film! Now we have his Christ film we can put his previous work in context. A useless actor with no range, a horrible intolerant ideology . Nuff said? Of course Mel Gibson hates Jews. He also hates the English, mainstream Catholics, Aboriginal Australians and any number of other racial and religious groups. I imagine he really loathes Muslims. Just look at his body of work over the last 20 years. Tendentious films that rewrite history and in which he is always the hero. His dad was a draft-dodger, escaping from the US to Australia rather than fight in Vietnam. And poor old Mel, who worshipped his Dad, has spent his life trying to justify the insane fascistic views of his old man. He can't face up to the fact that Papa was a coward, and so has to puff himself up as the constant hero. Pitiful, really. The church scene is the probably the most dishonest in Hollywood history. We know that Native and African Americans flocked to the Crown because of the vile treatment they received from the "settlers". Indeed - slavery was banished in the British Empire almost 100 years before it was in the US. And decent, loyal, slavery-hating Americans
fled north to become Canadians. Is the truth a surprise to any of you Mel lovers? Its all lies!. Open your eyes!
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Gibson is brilliant in this 2000 film. He used his tremendous and plentiful talents to make this film a great. It will go down as being one of the very few which I watch and re-watch numerous times. I'll admit--without Gibson, this would only be a "par" purchase. After seeing his performances in this, What Women Want, etc., I have to say that he has become one of my favorite actors. Some of the dialogue is a bit corny... for instance the taxation without representation bit.... (Gibson's speech in Charlestown) but it is nonetheless very valid. There is quite a bit of violence in this film, but I would have no problems letting teenagers watch this one. It is good that they should know how great a price the patriots who founded our country paid for our liberty.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: One of the best movies and underated movies I ever saw (and I've seen a lot of movies). This movie takes place during the Revolutionary War from the perspective of a militia headed by Gibson. This movie last for more than 2 1/2 hours, but once you get into about 20 minutes, you just can't turn it off. This movie covers most of the major battles, but many small ones involving the militia. Overall, this movie is a must see, and maybe even a must have.
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