THE PATRIOT
2000

May 28, 2001
HBO

-->Directed.....Roland Emmerich [Independence Day, Godzilla]
-->Written.....Robert Rodat [Fly Away Home, Saving Private Ryan]
-->Cinematography.....Caleb Deschanel [Apocalypse Now, The Black Stallion, Being There, The Right Stuff, Twin Peaks, Visions Of Light, Fly Away Home, Titanic, Hope Floats, Message In A Bottle]
-->Ben Martin.....Mel Gibson [Mad Max, The Road Warrior, The Bounty, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, Bird On A Wire, Air America, Hamlet, Lethal Weapon 3, The Man Without A Face, Maverick, Braveheart, Pocahontas, Ransom, Lethal Weapon 4, Payback, Chicken Run]

A South Carolina farmer, who had success in previous battles, is reluctantly drawn into the Revolutionary War after one of his sons is killed by an English officer.

Not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Gibson is fine, as are the actors comprising his motley crew of militiamen. Every possible movie convention was used to bring out our cheers or tears, depending on the circumstances. Gibson's Ben Martin is the James Bond of musket-warfare, single-handledly taking on several dozen of the enemy. There was some remarkable brutality and personal vendettas that seemed more modern-day than old-school. People are burned alive and shot for no reason. I will say this, I was never bored throughout its almost 3 hour running time.

7.50 Ebert
7.50 Maltin
6.40 A Critical Consensus