The Patriot

(2000)

Runtime: 165 min.

Rated R for strong war violence

Summary:

"The Patriot" is set in South Carolina in 1776 right before the Revolutionary War.  Mel Gibson plays Benjamin Martin, a French-Indian war hero who is haunted by his past.  His wife has since passed away and he is left to care for their seven children. Benjamin's eldest son, Gabriel, is played by Heath Ledger. He is anxious to join the Continental Army but he is not allowed to do so. When Benjamin is summoned to Charles Town, Gabriel joins without permission. Eventually the British capture Charles Town and there is a battle outside Benjamin's plantation. A wounded soldier enters Benjamin's house and turns out to be Gabriel.  The next morning Colonel Tavington of the British army arrives at the house where he takes Gabriel captive and sentences him to be hung as a spy. Enraged, Benjamin's second eldest son, Thomas, tries to set Gabriel free. Upon doing so, Colonel Tavington shoots Thomas in the back, killing him. After Tavington leaves, Benjamin seeks revenge and takes a short-cut to get ahead of the troops who took his son. Benjamin fights and kills every last redcoat in the unit except Tavington. Afterwards, Benjamin and Gabriel go back to the Continental Army where they are given an assignment to establish a militia to keep General Lord Charles Cornwallis in the South so he cannot flank General George Washington in the North. Accompanied by a French officer, they round up a militia and become proficient marksmen. Meanwhile, Colonel Tavington murders innocent women and children, including Gabriel's newly-wedded wife. Gabriel then seeks revenge like his father had done, but unfortunately is killed by Colonel Tavington. Now that Benjamin has lost two sons he joins with the rest of the Continental Army where they will fight the British one last time.  Benjamin finds Colonel Tavington on the battlefield and kills him while the rest of the British army is forced to retreat.

Critics Reviews:

Roger Ebert gives three stars.

Rogerebert.com

Boxoffice Reviews gives three and a half stars.

Boxofficereviews.com

Rolling Stone gives three stars.

Rollingstone.com

Toxic Universe Reviews gives one star.

Toxicuniverse.com

My review: I give the Patriot two and a half stars all around. For historical value, I was generous and give it two stars. Though there is almost no historical accuracy besides being set in the Revolutionary War era, there has been a great deal of research of the clothing and warfare tactics. The vivid and sometimes graphic scenery and costumes really put you into the time period. For entertainment value, I gave this movie four stars. The acting was good and the plot keeps your attention but I really enjoyed the special effects and sound. When watching this movie with a large television and digital surround sound, it makes it much more enjoyable.

Some errors pointed out by IMDB.com:

When Tavington is searching for the child hiding under the table his boots are clearly visible and certainly of the "Left-Right" variety. Boots were made on straight lasts until the 1800s.

Benjamin Martin shoots a British soldier who is on a moving horse using a flintlock pistol at a range of approximately 100 yards. A ball from a black powder pistol would not even reach that sort of distance and hitting a moving target at that distance would be difficult even with a modern pistol. The effective range of a black powder pistol is about 20 feet as the barrel is too short to allow all the powder to burn before the ball leaves the barrel (too low a muzzle velocity to achieve any sort of range)

Occam, the slave that joins the militia, would not have been allowed to serve with the Carolina militia. South Carolina (which had the largest black population in the southern colonies) was the only state that refused to allow blacks to serve in its militia. Black soldiers that served in South Carolina were from other colonies and usually were freed men serving in the Colonial Regulars.

Cast overview by IMDB.com:
	Mel Gibson	....	Benjamin Martin
	Heath Ledger	....	Gabriel Martin
	Joely Richardson	....	Charlotte Selton
	Jason Isaacs	....	Col. William Tavington
	Chris Cooper	....	Col. Harry Burwell
	Tchéky Karyo	....	Jean Villeneuve
	Rene Auberjonois	....	Reverend Oliver
	Lisa Brenner	....	Anne Howard
	Tom Wilkinson	....	Gen. Lord Charles Cornwallis
	Donal Logue	....	Dan Scott
	Leon Rippy	....	John Billings
	Adam Baldwin	....	Capt. Wilkins
	Jay Arlen Jones	....	Occam
	Joey D. Vieira	....	Peter Howard
	Gregory Smith	....	Thomas Martin