The Patriot (1998)

Hollywood action star Steven Seagal (EXECUTIVE DECISION, GLIMMER MAN) provides big-screen heroics in this exciting, nonstop hard-hitting thriller where every second counts! Dr. Wesley McClaren was the government's top immunologist before giving it all up for a quiet practice in a small Montana community. But the peace is abruptly shattered when a violent extremist group unleashes a rapidly spreading lethal biological agent and takes over the town! As more and more people die from a baffling illness, the edge-of-your-seat suspense only intensifies as McClaren races to outsmart the militia men and find a cure before the insidious disease spreads worldwide!

The Patriot

This order was never shipped to me. Although I had written 4 emails to the seller, I never received my order nor a reply to my emails. I had to file a claim with Amazon.com to receive a refund of the purchase price. However, I plan to get this movie somewhere else in the near future, as this is an excellent movie, I have rented it many times, and enjoy watching it each time. Thank you for your time. August 6, 2008

Segal's First Direct To Video Release...Im Not Surprized

Seagal was tempted once more to recreate "On Deadly Ground" It seems he really has a thing for being the environmental hero; and sure the intentions may be good, but the movies themselves aren't. This flick has the same feel of both "On Deadly Ground", and "Fire Down Below" only weaker. I mean Fire Down Below was a good excuse for the dreadful On Deadly Ground...why keep re visiting similar plots.

Seagal this time around plays Dr. Wesley McClaren, A local Doctor that is well respected in his town. Shortly in the film we are introduced to a Militia- Extremist; he and his men want to teach the government a lesson. The leader of the militia decides to use his body as a vessel for a biochemical disease. He ingests the disease, whoever gets in contact with him they will obviously get infected, and whoever gets in contact with the other infected...the will also get the disease, and etc. McClaren, who was once C.I.A operative, is called in to help investigate and find a cure to create a vaccine before more get infected. McClaren will do the impossible to find the cure and take down the enemy.

The idea of an "invisible" threat is good, but this movie doesn't feel like a movie for Seagal; it should have been given to someone else like Charles Bronson (who was alive at the time) also there really isn't any action in this movie; many complain about that, personally I think it was a good choice because the story doesn't really match with martial arts. one thing that for sure kills the movie is the resolution; after they find the cure (which are flowers) they spread the cure from helicopters all over the town...that's really frooty. I guess its ok to watch, but now own

MY PERSONAL RATING: 3 OUT OF 5

July 31, 2008

Doesn't Call For Flag-Waving

"The Patriot" is a bit of an odd vehicle for Steven Seagal...
While it's not nearly his worst movie ever, you'd be hard-pressed to find somebody who would include it in a top-ten list.

Loosely based on a novel by William Heine, the plot features Seagal - as a Montana doctor and a supposed patriot - attempting to reverse the actions of a right-wing militia, which has let loose a deadly biological agent on Seagal's hometown.

For one thing, the movie has very few outright action scenes: there's some punching, some shooting, some neck-stabbing, but in very few of these situations is an actual fight or confrontation involved. In addition, there's not a single car (or horse) chase in the film.
This decisive lack of Seagal's bread-and-butter moves me to consider that "The Patriot" is not an action film, but more of a thriller; the movie's theme would certainly speak for it, as it draws parallels to Dustin Hoffman's "Outbreak" - a disease without a cure, racing against time, applying the scientific method, etc.

The film was also Seagal's first straight-to-video feature (in the US), but is of no lower technical or dramatic quality than his previous "Glimmer Man" or "Fire Down Below". Though the movie's environmentalist message might irritate some folks, it does have some things going for it: the supporting cast - headed by Gailard Sartain ("The Real McCoy") and L.Q. Jones ("Lone Wolf McQuade") - is respectable, Seagal puts a bit more effort than usual into his role as a father, and he's not quite as omnipotent as he tends to be in movies...after all, he doesn't discover the cure; Whitney Yellow Robe (who never acted in another movie) does.

Enjoying "The Patriot" eventually boils down to a matter of opinion: do you disregard this film because Steven Seagal isn't about to win an Oscar, or do you enjoy it just because it has Steven in it?
Personally, I tend to like it...but, again, he's done much better. May 19, 2008

thought it was a great movie

I thought it was wonderful to see seagal in a different type of movie. It got his message across, It had a little bit of everything in it ,not JUST action. It had a story line that was different for him and showed him as a father and a doctor -not the old CIA or EX CIA operative. He wasn't an assassin or a cop. He was a doctor. soo his character didn't need to kill everyone he needed to find a cure and keep his daughter safe. I liked the movie a lot BECAUSE it showed him in a different role and not the same type of character he usually plays.Give the guy a break! How many action movies can one make!before they all seem the same. February 8, 2008

Gorgeous scenery - and another side of Steven Seagal

Here's a film where Seagal doesn't just go through those regular paces we all love him for, which is probably why most of the viewers reviewing this film here are disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all, and next to Under Siege, this is my favorite Seagal movie. Not just because of the beautiful scenery, not just because Seagal plays a doctor who cares more about helping his patients get well than he does getting paid, not just because he gives both the government officials and the militia-extremists a real piece of his mind. Not even because of the role that Native American traditions and healing methods play in this film.

Maybe for all those things. Or maybe because this take-no-prisoners 'tough guy' is a fine role model of a terrific father to his daughter in this film. It's a real treat to see this side of Seagal and it adds a dimension to his character that makes this more than just an action movie.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of enemies to defeat here, and Seagal defeats them all -- including the 'invisible enemy' of biochemical disease. Not bad, not bad at all. Better than good in fact.

Five stars. November 3, 2007

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