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The Patriot

The Patriot

List Price: $19.94
Your Price: $14.96
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Mel 2 - English 0
Review: I found the film to be deeply offensive at times, especially in the manner in which it glosses over the fact that Gibson's character, as well as being a war hero, was a murderer, rapist, peodophile and heinous criminal. There also seems to be some confusion over the whole slavery issue, because in reality the independent colonists treated slaves far far worse than the British ever did, and held back freedom for slaves a generation after the British had done so. It also just briefly touches upon wider issues such as the intervention of the French that could have been included in the mammoth running time.
Apart from these historical inaccuracies, the film isn't that bad. It never bores, moves fairly quickly and has a few amusing moments to lighten the mood. But it does revert to the shameless tactic of the glorified hero element far too much and the awkward romance touches just seem to have been crowbarred in. It is the stereotyping and the over-the-top melodramatic glorifications that drag this film down for me, and as a result The Patriot never becomes the epic that the far-superior Braveheart was.
Not a bad film then, but could have been a truly remarkable epic about an important part of history.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Surprisingly excellent
Review: I first saw this film when I rented it, I wasn't disappointed. I expected a politically correct revisionist piece of .... What I got instead was a story of a real hero, who put principle above all else. Is this completely historically accurate? No it isn't. It doesn't have to be. The general theme is what is important and it should get everyone to think about how we got here as a nation. People like the character in this film got us here. This film made me proud and I was pleased to see that some revisionist cry babies didn't like this film. Too bad PCers, this film is about courage, honor, and sacrifice. Three terms that are foreign to the VMS we live in today. (Victim Mentality Society). Buy the DVD, it's worth it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enjoyable and emotionally compelling
Review: The Patriot is a movie, not a documentary. I urge those who want to see a historically accurate film about the revolutionary war to find something else. This movie is a work of fiction and does not apologize for that.

Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a widowed father of seven. He is pressed, unwillingly, into the war as a Colonel of the militia, after a ruthless dragoon shoots and kills one of his children. From there the movie takes off and never lets up. Viewers are shown how the war affects different peoples: fathers losing innocent children (sometimes more than one), women having their homes burnt to the ground, wives and small children shot for information, a slaves quest to earn his freedom with a year's worth of militia service, even a town full of people locked inside of a burning church. There are also moments of levity as Benjamin Martin negotiates for a prison exchange with Lord Cornwallis, only for Cornwallis to learn that he has bartered for straw filled officers coats.

The Patriot also is a good-looking film. The filmography is excellent. Costumes, backdrops, and battlefields are so well done as to be almost a work of art. It is very visually impressive.

Like many movies about war, The Patriot does not blink in showing the sickening details of life on the battlefield. Those with a weak stomach need not apply. Small children should definetely not watch this movie.

The DVD provides lots of neat extras. There are the typical making-of type things as well as a featurette about how the battlefield scences were created. Viewers who like to hear about the creation of graphic effects will not be disappointed.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The Unpatriot
Review: Among the calamities of war may be jointly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages.
-- Samuel Johnson; The Idler

We can't really call ourselves a great country if we can't even tell the truth about our own beginnings in something as silly as a movie. Does it really matter that it isn't accurate? Well, it does and it doesn't, depending on what's being distorted. The virtuous Colonial widow is shown walking down the middle of the street at midday, in a dress she could probably never have afforded, with half her bosom uncovered -- so what? -- it's Hollywood. However, it has not been long enough to distort history to the point where Colonel Banastre Tarleton, one of the few British officers who ever met the Americans on their own terms, is portrayed as an enthusiastic incinerator of civilians, with the British regulars as his minions. There is absolutely no fact to support this characterization. So, having exceeded the limits of the truth as it has, this film amounts to abuse. Mel Gibson's getting too wrinkled to charm his way out of this kind of garbage. It's also boring. Forget it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great film!
Review: Possibly the best movie of Mel's...The great, as always,Mel Gibson gives a tremendous performance in this movie showing how much of a patriot a man can be and promotes also the ideas of sensitivity and thoughtfulness. In some scenes he seems so real in his actions and expressions that anyone would bet that this is a real documentary!! He is devoted to his work and unique in his acting ability! I am sure that he will go on creating masterpieces after Braveheart and this one! Recommended undoubtedly to every movie fan!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Wonderful Mel Gibson
Review: Mel Gibson's facial expressions alone should have won him an Oscar. While some of the story is fictional, there is enough of what really happened to enkindle interest in the Revolution. It's a film which holds interest, and which should be seen by all movie goers.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Mad Mel....
Review: Mel is one of my favourite actors and I love nearly all he does, but this one while being very watchable just goes off target. I am sorry, my family is British and I tend to take offence at the stereotypical bad English men.

Not saying its unwatchable. It's a good watch. Just so many things that are off on this. Like Mel wanted to do another Epic like Braveheart and totally missed.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Been There, Done That
Review: Let's see...

We have a period piece starring Mel Gibson. He is portraying the character of a noble family man, simply wanting to live in peace. But alas, he is drawn into conflict by evil English villains, and he embarks on a quest to avenge the death of a loved one. The movie ends in a celebration of freedom.

Problem is, Mel Gibson adopted this formula before, with far better results. The film: "Braveheart."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Finally, a SUPERBIT DELUXE title that lives up to the hype!
Review: The Patriot was a great film, and now it can be seen in all it's glory with this new double disc edition. The picture quality is as good as DVD can get. I swear this film justifies the price of my HDTV! Now the sound, the Dolby Digital soundtrack is the same as the original DVD release, but the DTS 5.1 track is outstanding. Check out the battle when Mel Gibson rescues his son from the British. That scene used the rear channels and subwoofer to create a sense of realism that the Dolby Digital track could never reproduce, WOW!!!
This is the first film in the SUPERBIT collection to feature bonus features on Disc 2. There is nothing new here, all of these features can be found on the original release. It features a Behind the Scenes featurette, the True Patriots feature, and some outstanding deleted scenes including a funeral for Mel's son who is murdered by a brutal British officer in the beginning of the film.
In summary, an outstanding film, a great DTS 5.1 soundtrack, and a disc full of bonus features! Final a SUPERBIT title lives up to its name, "DELUXE EDITION"!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Just Stunningly Awful Jingoistic Claptrap.
Review: This movie is so bad that it's just downright ugly.

So cliche-ridden, sanitised and contrived, you can only guess that the director was hell bent on wringing out the last vestiges of human emotions from an uncritical audience.

Over-wrought and cringing melodrama are the hallmarks here: the stereotypical good guy (Mel Gibson) vs bad guys (British) takes on a whole new dimension, or more accurately, plumbs new depths with this insulting offering. And as for the role of the little girl, oh so cute and pretty to personify the tedious cinematic metaphors of angst, redemption and reconciliation, didn't you feel like giving her a real hard slap and a good pinch?

And for all those viewers who experienced a flush of patriotic pride accompanied with a compelling urge to stand up and salute shedding a tear or two while watching this formulaic dreck, here is a warning: If you should ever, EVER, go and see a Roadrunner cartoon, make sure you're armed with a big box of tissues; you'll need it for the scenes which feature the coyote plunging over the cliff, getting run down by a truck/train, accidently blowing himself up, etc., etc. You'll be crying bucket loads of tears.


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