Review: The Patriot

By Acheron June 30, 2000 11:49 AM

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As most know, Mel Gibson's new film, The Patriot is remenicent of his earlier work in Braveheart, but this time set in the American colonies during the American Revolution. Gibson's character, Benjamin Martin, is a war hero raising all his children on his own. He doesn't want to take part in the rebellion against King George, but after ruthless actions inflicted by the British Army, he joins the cause. That's all I'll spoil... Though not quite as good as Braveheart, there is really very little that was wrong with this film. The cinematography was brilliant. The acting was great. The story was moving. It had a little bit too much of a Hollywood touch to it, and it was a little long(around 3 hours). Those were the only bad things about it -- and I hesitate to call them "bad." It was apparent throughout the movie that the director was trying to keep the Braveheart tones suppressed, but I think he did a good job of it. It's well worth seeing. It ranks up there with Gladiator on my list of great movies. Conclusion: Great movie. A little violent and a little long, so keep that in mind before taking your kids. I'd give it a 8.4/10.0.

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RE: Review: The Patriot   reply

Posted by A random shemp (No Email) on July 2, 2000 7:12 AM

Yah vell . . the problem is that, unlike The Gladiator, this film takes a historical period and creates a tale that fits very snugly and comfortably INSIDE convention, not wandering for a second outside the lines to try something new. I thought the whole thing felt very canned - the whole film felt like it was made BEFORE they made it, if you catch my drift. It didn't suck, but it was so utterly unambitious in terms of style & story that I left disappointed. And John Williams needs to get back to the land of memorable melodies . . . .