The Patriot

2000

Roland Emmerich

Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs ...

6.4

41,416

Adventure. War. Drama

Adventure. War. Drama

Year 1776, in South Caroline. A former war hero, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) has renounced fighting forever to raise his family in peace. As time passes on his sprawling plantation, the wife of this once efficient and ferocious soldier bears him seven children. But when the British arrive at his South Carolina home and endanger what he holds most dear, Martin takes up arms alongside his idealistic patriot son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Peter Travers Rolling Stone	"A thunderous spectacle (...) It is remarkable to see a mainstream movie (...) patrolling such rough terrain. And Gibson, who gives one of his best performances, doesn't shrink from exploring the dark side of the American character."
		Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times	"Mel Gibson lifts up 'The Patriot' but gets caught between the film's sentimental and hellishly violent sides."
		Elvis Mitchell The New York Times	"It may be effective, but you leave the theater feeling used (...) 'The Patriot'' is a slow, somber epic, or rather it is presented slowly and somberly, as if such staging could give it substance."
		Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"It is rousing and entertaining, and you get your money's worth (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"
		Ben Falk BBC	"Gibson has proven he can do this kind of stuff with his eyes closed and he is rounded out by a fine supporting cast (...) There is a lot to get excited about (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Philip French The Guardian	"It's beautifully designed, magically photographed and equipped with a stirring John Williams score that tells the spectator what to think and what to feel (...) It's undeniably entertaining."
		Kayla Webley Time	"Principal among the movie’s gross inaccuracies is the portrayal of British soldiers as evil, bloodthirsty sadists."
		Time Out	"The intimate and domestic scenes tend to be stuffy and forced, but Emmerich does convey a sense of war encroaching across the land (...) Often impressive, but stirring and stomach churning in equal measure."
		Reece Pendleton Chicago Reader	"While 'The Patriot' espouses the values associated with the revolution, it's all too willing to ignore or distort history, and inadvertently it has less to say about patriotism than about our own talent for delusion."

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