Rating: 
Summary: A vastly overlooked heroic movie!
Review: The dvd for this movie rivals that of "Gladiator" in that it is a pristine image transfer and the sound is also excellent. I was very pleased to see how well the image and sound played out on my modest entertainment system. The movie itself is based on real history, but the director did modernize the movie a bit by creating a story of good guy versus bad guy and overdoing the evil deeds by the bad guy. For example, one church burning scene never happened during the Revolutionary War. This scene was created primarily to evoke strong hatred towards the bad guy. It was not a necessary scene and was somewhat of a downer for me personally as a history buff. Another critisicm I have concerns the lack of background information underlying the reasons for the Revolutionary War. My criticisms are minor though when compared to the overall movie itelf. If you are looking for a good period piece about America's Revolutionary War then this dvd is for you. You will watch it over and over again just to see some nifty battle scenes! You will watch it again and again because the good guy defeats the bad guy and both are clearly illustrated for you. You may even cheer when the bad guy gets his due!
Rating:
Summary: A battle at home
Review: The Patriot is the retelling of a story about a man named Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. Mel Gibson plays Ben Martin, some one that is perfectly content with his life as it is and, will not fight in a war that will that not only destroy the lives of his countrymen, but could be witnessed by the eyes of his children. Soon, as the war starts to tear at his families bindings, He too finds himself wading into its bitter turmoils. After several viewings I see the strong likeness to Braveheart. Someone dies, he is enreged, takes revenge, then is off to war. I have been turning the question around and around in my head, why did they make the story line at such a close resemblance? Maybe, after five years, we needed it. Braveheart struck a chord in me when I saw it, and goodness know's I was proud to have Scottish blood in me, and still am. The Patriot should do something else, and that is: make us proud of our forefathers, and cheer for them. To understand, atleast to some extent, what our ancestors went through. We will never know how that felt. Now, even though we still have fighters and patriots, we will never know what it was like to fight a tyrant king that wants absolute control of our lives, and well being. We will never feel that. The Patriot does give a hint, a glimps, into the way it was. Maybe historically the facts about Francis Marion will never make a perfect appearance on the big screen, but this movie isn't about exactness. It's about our freedom, and the high cost of it; The love we did have for our country, and the reflection of devotion that we should have now. ~S.A.O.S.~
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic
Review: This movie not only showed the struggles of war-torn America, but it also protrayed the emotional struggles that every American had to deal with at that time. Mel Gibson gave an outstanding performance. I was truly proud of his acting. This movie was the most honest and truthful work done by the motion picture industry that I have seen.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Adventure/Drama
Review: The Patriot is a spectacular, rousing, and moving film which I thouroughly enjoyed. Those looking for exact historic accuracy need to head for the library. It would be impossible to fit every historical fact on this war into any movie and still have it be interesting. Those of you who can sit through Roland Emmerich's tedious commentary will get some pretty good insight into the creation of the movies characters. They even address the reasons why Benjamin Martin didn't own slaves, and the ruthless nature of Colonel Tavington. So grab the popcorn and enjoy a great film.
Rating:
Summary: Good Movie
Review: This was a great movie. It had small amounts of truth but it was still fun to watch.
Rating:
Summary: no braveheart, that's for sure, but easily just as
Review: watchable as *gladiator*. in fact, i think that *the patriot* holds up even better than *gladiator* to repeated viewing. (so far. i reserve the right to recant that if things change ;)first, the soundtrack. patriotic to be sure, but not as sublime or exceptional as the soundtracks to *braveheart* or *gladiator*. acting - very good all around. colonel tavington, played by jason isaacs, i think, communicated pure evil very well. i was very much enchanted by the quiet grace that joely richardson conveyed in her acting. heath ledger's character, however, is a bit saccharine, though, at times. the action - in general very good & very intense, but unfortunately there is a lot of killing and violence :( & the "hatchet" scene is deplorable. and the "flag raising" scene got a big old roll of the eyes from me - seemed pretty silly to me, but who knows, maybe it could have been historically based; i'm not that well-read on the revolutionary war, so i couldn't tell ya. the length of the movie is fine. the directing was very good and the cinematography at times was exceptional. the editing in this film was much smoother than in *gladiator*. like *gladiator* this film falls solidly in the 3-4 star range -as long as you are not a history buff and a purist who demands historical accuracy, in which case i think you will be very disappointed by the film. but if you are in the mood for an action flick/semi-epic story, *the patriot* may be of interest.
Rating:
Summary: As Accurate As One Can Reasonably Expect
Review: I must disagree with the numerous reviewers who claim this movie is not historically accurate. Granted certain adjustments have been made to the chronology for dramatic reasons but other than that 'The Patriot' is notably authentic for a Hollywood movie and creating a fictional central character gives the writer considerably more leeway than he'd have had if they'd stuck to their original idea of making a movie about Francis Marion. I agree it would have been more usual for an 18th century planter to own slaves *however* free blacks did exist in the Colonial South, including some landowners. Whites who opposed or had doubts about slavery also existed at that time. It is therefore perfectly possible that an individual farmer might prefer free labor to slave and be able to find and hire such.
Rating:
Summary: Not for the politically correct.
Review: This was a good movie. It had action, great scenes and all the horrors of war and rage and rash action (ie the first casuality in the "Gibson" family) and the result of not speaking out when you can.(as learned by a British Lt.) It is a spectacle in an era when spectacles of this type are frowned upon. We'll skip all the tripe about slavery and the overplaying of the main bad guy in the movie. If you can't handle a movie that shows any american living south of Mason Dixon before 1865 in a positive light without outrage, go see a shrink. This movie is really an old fashoned patriotic movie, that would have worked much better after 9/11/01. It is a good choice to see since the attack, you will even get a few laughs from the rocking chair sequences. (Very Funny) If you want to see a MOVIE with black white and just a few shades of grey see this one. If such a movie doesn't do if for you and you want grey throughout and a more grity and realistic portrait of the times then try Al Pacino in REVOLUTION. (Forgotten but not forgettable.)
Rating: 
Summary: A unrealistic, sterotypical mess!
Review: This film is horrible, it is boring, unhistorical, and it is filled with violence as a substitute for a horrible story. I hope tyhe American public is not that shallow as to where violence can make up for a bad movie. It unrealistically make the English look like red monsters. Also to its unrealistic side, there is a scene where Mel Gibson and his two eight year old sons attack thirty English soldiers, and win. Now come one how can one man and two eight year olds, with single shot rifles easly defeat thrirty British soldiers?! The characters are stupid, the plot is stupid and the MOVIE IS HORRIBLE!
Rating:
Summary: Good but a little gory
Review: Good but a little gory. I wouldn't let my children watch this for many many years. Good story, plot and fairly gripping. I liked the historical aspect of it.
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