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The Patriot (Superbit Deluxe Collection) Customer Reviews (115 - 117 of 120 Reviews)

I strongly recommend avoiding this movie if you are a fan of great period movies such as Gettysburg & Barry Lyndon (for starters). The Patriot is more in lines with movies such as Titanic, Pirates of the Carribean, a Knights Tale and Pearl Harbor....

I wish Gibson would have directed it. He may have given it the same treatment that Braveheart & The Passion recieved.....For shame Mel! The American Revolution deserves better then this movie.

A mixed bag
First off I will have to admit, I liked this movie. But it was a mixed bag of good and bad. It did come out as a lot of people pointed out, like braveheart, but not nearly as good.

here are some of the good.

The action sequences and cinematography are amazing. This director really knew how to set up the battle sequences so that they are both picturesque, and frightening at the same time. This was rated as one of the middle period Napoleonic wars, and the fighting style is much different than what we are used to. You dressed in bright uniforms and marched to your death. Cavalry charges were still used to a great degree of effectiveness, and they used them with deadly efficiency. The cannons were primarily large bullets that they would angle specifically so that they would bounce or skip and hit as many soldiers as they could, similar to a bowling ball.

There were some funny moments with Mel Gibson and his children.

A few twists and turns were in the plot, where it was following a cliche movie device up until the very end, where they turn it around at the conclusion.

Some of the dialogue is interesting and the character motivations were not all standard. Mel Gibsons characters initial refusal to enter the war, his speech to the continental congress, etc....

Like Braveheart it had many historical ideas that were true in a sense, but didn't happen in the same way. There was a military leader in the british army that practiced a slash and burn operation similar to sherman in the civil war. As well as other decisions by the British that angered many colonials causing them to join the war when the originally stayed neutral. Cornwallis was a noted field commander and a favorite of the king.

Now for the bad.

Some of the cliches were almost laughably bad.

The antagonists, though well acted and interesting, were over the top in some key areas. Cornwallis was not flawless in his exploits, and he was a patriot but actually opposed harsh treatment of Americans before the war, including the infamous "stamp tax". Though some leaders in the millitary did a slash and burn campaign, I don't recall any mention of people being burned alive.

The method they had for victory in the end was a bit simplistic. The main selling point was it was the defeat of a giant in the war for independence. Though the British army in question was a giant in that time, it seemed like too cliche and easy of a ruse, relying on the arrogance of a oppsing general.

The ambush sequence where Mel Gibson and his sons killed a large number of soldiers was a bit far fetched. Though troops at that time were terrible at defending against ambush, they weren't necessarily stupid, and could have mounted a better defense.

The murder of his son in the earlier part of the movie was over the top in its attempt to show how wicked the leader of the Dragoons was. When he ordered the wounded killed, that would have been sufficient, him shooting a boy even out of necessity was a step short of him wearing a black top hat and twisting his mustache.

All in all I give this 3 stars as a standalone movie. It will entertain most and just about everybody will find something they like in it. But the lack of consistency, overuse of cliches, and mixed quality writing will bother most people.

As an action film alone, it gets four stars, but for an overall film, 3.

Doesn't Get Any Better!
In my most humble opinion (AHEM!!) I think this is a movie where it really doesn't get too much better. I give it 5 stars for showing Benjamin Martin's commitment to his family, and how the rebellious Gabriel picked up and finally understood when he had a wife of his own. The action, awesome! For those who complain that it was too gory, you can watch Alice in Wonderland. War is not supposed to be a pretty thing. This shows people who were dedicated and willing to fight for what they believed in! Mel Gibson was at his best! Good stuff!