The Patriot

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The Patriot is a 2000 action-war movie directed by Roland Emmerich and featuring a cast that includes Mel Gibson, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Isaacs, and the late Heath Ledger. Benjamin Martin (played by Gibson) is a man who was a soldier, and now just wants to live a normal, peaceful life. Things change for him when his eldest son, Gabriel (played by Ledger) joins the Revolutionary War for Independence. Throughout most of the movie, Martin finds himself at odds with the villainous Colonel Tavington (played by Isaacs). This is a movie I enjoy watching around the Fourth of July quite a bit. I would advise anyone not to go into this movie expecting it to be historically accurate, because it's not that kind of movie. There's a surprising amount of character development to the character of Benjamin Martin and his son Gabriel. They both have differing viewpoints, but you really understand where each man is coming from. Martin was a solider in his past, and knows what the atrocities of war can look like. Gabriel is still very youthful and optimistic, seeing the potential good in gaining independence. Both Gibson and Ledger play these parts to a tee. Unfortunately, the strong development doesn't really branch out beyond these two characters. Isaacs gives a fantastic performance as Tavington, I won't deny that. However, I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a little thin in terms of development. To be fair, I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. A similar observation could be made of the movie's overall story. This movie came out in 2000, so in its own way, it fits more as an  action movie of the 80s and 90s era. The hero is a retired soldier with a dark past. The villain threatens him and his family, and this puts the two at odds. The hero ultimately must come out of retirement to put a stop to the main villain. As I said earlier, The Patriot should not be viewed as a historically accurate epic. If you watch this movie with that thought process in mind, you are probably going to hate it. However, if you watch this from the aspect of an 80s-style action flick that just so happens to take place during the Revolutionary War, you'll probably have a lot of fun.

7 / 10