The Patriot

Rating:
Summary: History buffs might enjoy this the most
Review: I think this movie was the victim of great expectations, coming on the heels of Braveheart, which audiences and critics alike hailed as a masterpiece. This Revolutionary War saga is amazingly similar to Braveheart, in that a peace loving but fiercely able Gibson is forced from a pastoral life by malevolent political forces. The movie is not without highlights, notably Gibson and his two young sons taking on a handful of British soldiers, but the payoffs are ho-hum. It's not that the movie is bad, just that it's predictably exactly what a solidly-done Hollywood period piece about the Revolutionary War would look like.

Rating:
Summary: Oh give me a break
Review: This film has so much sap in it I could pour it over my hotcakes. Mel Gibson was ridiculous in this.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT MOVIE, BUT NOT THE BEST OF GIBSON
Review: YEA ANY HISTORY BUFF WOULD LOVE THIS ONE. GREAT MUSIC, GREAT BATTLE SEENS, AND BEST OF ALL, THE GREATEST NATION IN HISTORY IS BORN. THE MOVIE IS VERY FACTUAL AS YOU SEE DURING THESE YEARS BRITIAN WAS THE WORLD'S GREATEST POWER. NEVERTHELESS, HER YOKE WOULD BE CAST OFF AS THE USA BEGINS TO TAKE OVER.

ITS A GREAT MOVIE, MEL, YOU DID I FINE JOB ON THIS ONE. BUT ITS NOT BETTER THEN BRAVEHEART, THE ALL TIME CLASSIC. YET IS WELL WORTH IT, A WELL EARNED 4, JUST BEHIND BRAVEHEART 5, AND PASSION OF THE CHRIST 5.

GOOD JOB MEL

Rating:
Summary: No More Kings....
Review: This movie, starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs is set in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Gibson is a widowed daddy resistant to joining the fight due to personal demons from his own battle experiences, and Ledger plays his war hungry son. As the plot unfolds, we watch as Gibson's character is pulled into the fight through personal tragedy and a thirst for vengeance.

Jason Isaacs, who plays Willian Tavington, is a bad man. He kills little kids, he burns down churches holding entire villages within, and he has an unnatural interest in ruining Mel Gibson's life. You would think that an officer in the King's army would have better things to do than nurse a vendetta against a single family when surely there are more pressing issues at hand with 13 entire colonies revolting.And herein lies the problem with this movie...

The characters, overall, are interesting, and the story is a fun, flag waving melodrama, but Tavington is not the most believable of characters, nor are his motives. Even his own people dislike him, and while one can get lost in his deliciously played out evil, he should have saved it for a role in which is is trying to take over the universe because his intensity is way over the top.

On the other hand, Gibson's portrayal as a man reluctant to fight, and initially unwilling to give up his children to the war, is rather realistic. Many people in the colonies were reluctant to fight the mother country, even if they did agree with the ideals of the revolution! After all, the American Revolution was not a war we were supposed to win.

Overall, this is a good, watchable movie with beautiful cinematography, great costumes, memorable characters, and a lot of action. Look for the cannonball that severs the Redcoat's leg...ew. It goes from a pretty realistic premise to melodrama, but it's entertaining enough if you get past that.