The Patriot

Nowadays it's a classic and Mel is in great form in it. They really shouldn't have touched this guy's family. His crazy expression is inimitable and the scene with him and his youngest daughter, when they both fall into each other's arms, can bring tears to your eyes. But I am most entertained by the people who are the ones who scold it because it has too much American patriotism.__P.S. A great Jason Isaacs (and the villains in general) and the traditionally perfect John Williams. (08/12/2009)

Gibson overstepped the mark here... True, the basis of the film is the same as that of his mega hit Braveheart, but unlike the campaign of the charismatic Scottish warrior William Wallace, the struggle for national independence of a certain Benjamin Martin does not have the right "scale". Scale in fulfilling the templates of a historical film, scale in the piling of clichés. Because The Patriot is uncomfortably predictable, and the emotional charge is generated is a way that is so toiling and obvious that nothing happens during the moment it's supposed to spark. The handsome poses of the statuesque hero Gibson do not help. Roland Emmerich, I think that's one big historical mistake, and I thank him for confirming it again with his sterile and inept direction. The script is one big mess, which mattes and kneads a potentially interesting topic in the most chewy and exuded way. The characters are so embarrassingly standardized that my memories of a Czech building film of the 1950s come back to me. Pathos, pathos, and pathos again. In the middle of it, you just have to appreciate something as mediocre as Gibson's acting. At least it elevates the film to slightly below-average, but its schematics and traditional Emmerichism ("being more Emmerichan than American") represent something I don't want to see again. (02/10/2005)

The Patriot is to Braveheart what Troy is to Gladiator, i.e. not as good. It is a well-crafted Hollywood movie, but not made so much “from the heart” and with the risk (that comes with such a huge budget) of not being accepted by the masses. The Patriot had to be accepted by the masses because it contains absolutely every cliché of war, heroic and romantic epics that you can think of from the history of cinema. And it blends them together in a rich screenplay and with a high-quality cast. Except that Emmerich is an over-the-top kitsch master – many of the compositions are unrealistically rearranged and recolored (even in blue just because of Gibson’s eyes!) – and he serves up pathos to such an extent that it detracts from the film’s seriousness, which it needs as a historical fresco about actual events. That said, it works as a “Disney movie” for a rainy Sunday afternoon. (05/08/2020)

The beginning is engaging, the portrayal of the characters is good, the production quality is high, and Mel Gibson's facial expressions are traditionally precise. Jason Isaacs plays the villain with skill, and the initial clearance of twenty redcoats is unforgettable. But those are the only highlights of the film and then it only goes downhill. The fight scenes are not as dynamic and the mass scenes do not work well for Roland Emmerich. The cinematography is confusing and unclear, and the raw war atmosphere is clearly lacking. It's hard to fault Patriot for its pathos, but Gibson alone with his array of alternating angry, furious, and sad looks cannot win the war. (11/16/2003)

I haven't seen a more black and white portrayal of the struggle for independence, but I have to admit that if the Americans (Germans) are making the British look like pigs, at least they are led by the biggest of them all, Jason Isaacs. He makes you keep your fingers crossed for Mel to chop up as many Redcoats as he can with his tomahawk. If, on top of that, he also has Ledger, Karyo, Cooper and Wilkinson, the result can’t be mediocre. (02/09/2015)