The Patriot (2000)

Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat's screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clichés and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop.

On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin's anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger's love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

 VERY GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT...
FOR STARTERS, LET ME SAY THAT I THINK PRETTY HIGHLY OF THIS FILM. HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT A FILM THAT WARRANTS THE EXTRA MONEY TO GO BLU-RAY.

I OWN THIS TITLE ON DVD AND BLU, AND FRANKLY, I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE MY BLU MONEY BACK. THERE IS NOT A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN EITHER PICTURE OR SOUND QUALITY. WITH A FAIRLY LARGE COLLECTION OF STANDARD AND HIGH DEF FILMS, THIS IS JUST ONE THAT IS NOT WORTH THE EXTRA MONEY IN MY OPINION.

I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THOUGH, THIS FILM IS WELL WORTH THE COST OF A STANDARD DVD AND WOULD BE AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO ANY COLLECTION. May 1, 2008

 family values film
I like how he doesn't want to fight. He just wants to live in peace and raise his family and tend his crops.

Just like American patriots to this day he did not want war. No, we are a God fearing, peaceful people. But, if our freedom is under attack and our country needs us then we will accept the call to duty. Freedom is not free.

This is the true American spirit and even though Australian, Mel Gibson understands it very well. Perhaps it is his faith that ties him together with us. As in a previous film, "Braveheart", Gibson is a good man forced into action by circumstances beyond his control to fight the English. And when he does, put on your rain coat because there will be blood, and lots of it, pouring and spraying everywhere. If there ain't a lot of blood shed it's not a Mel Gibson movie. Farmer Mel does the Lord's work, quickly turning into an axe weilding colonial Rambo killing machine. I suppose one shouldn't be surprised at his dispatching of a fairly large number of Red Coats with such efficiency. The peoples' blood lust shall be satisfied with just killings of the wicked. And the English surely are wicked and cruel, at one point burning to the ground a little white chapel filled with innocents. No wonder our brave countrymen fought the Revolution. And watching this vivid and moving history you know God was on our side.

Actually, the movie is pretty fascist in it's conception. Leni Riefenstahl would love it. It does make you wonder when something like this is popular what percentage of the masses, particularly the peasantry, is inherently fascist in it's politics. Or if not inherently, at least very prone. Scary. April 23, 2008

 Perhaps Heath' best movie
The Patriot DVD

Mel Gibson is a pacifist who live in South Carolina circa 1776. His pacifism was caused by the violence he saw during the French and Indian War that he fought in. Heath Ledger plays his almost grown son.

Highly recommended for fans of the American Revolutionary war, Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger.

Gunner April, 2008
April 22, 2008

 Great action drama
This story is a great family title with a great story line that impresses on the family values and togetherness. April 14, 2008

 Great transfer!
They did a great job transferring this to Blu-ray. It was dazzling in detail. It was all that I hoped for, in an older title that has be re-released. April 11, 2008

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