Le patriote

The Patriot (nothing to do with the Mel Gibson film of the same name) came out Steven Seagal was still doing that 'saving the environment' thing in his movies. Which is fine. But it doesn't make for good action.

When the plot(?) of this film finally kicked in I saw the twist(?) coming a mile off. Seagal's anti-warfare, care-for-mother-nature stance is not very subtle. For a film that was originally going to debut in the cinemas it is shot very much like a TV movie despite some wonderful shots of the country by Dean Semler, the photographer of Dances with Wolves.

Steven Seagal does like 1 fight scene in the entire film and it's totally boring. As an action film it fails, as a drama it stinks, as an environmental message it's obvious. Avoid like Ebola crossed with plague.

Continuing my plan to watch every Steven Seagal movie in order I come to

The Patriot (1998)

Following his split from Warner Bros, Segal's business partner, Jules Nasso, put together a four-picture deal for Seagal. This was the first film that the financing had been solely raised by Seagal/Nasso Productions. There were no company logos, just Inter light Pictures and Baldwin/Cohen Productions present in association with Seagal/Nasso Productions

Apparently Seagal thought audiences were paying to see his movies for his acting ability, so he tries to show case that here as Doctor Wesley McClaren and its pretty embarrassing when he does try to do some serious acting. Like attempting to portray frustration as the soldiers die despite his best effortsnto save them.

I have to say, for me, this is the first bad movie in his filmography. Seagal adopts a really bad Western accent here. When combined with his trademark whispery voice, half the time I could not make out what he was saying. I'm the end I had to put the Subtitles.

Most of this movie is so moronic and implausible it beggers disbelief. There is lots of easily spotted foreshadowing and screenplay 101's littered all the way through the movie. I did make it to the ridiculous end, though.

The Patriot was the first Steven Seagal movie to be released straight to video in most countries. In just 10 years he had gone from promising action star to straight to video.

The film is a mish-mash of incoherent cliches ranging from a little girl and her pony, to Waco-like backwoods terrorists, to wise Native Americans. To be fair, the version I saw probably suffered slightly from poor editing for television broadcast.

Those who like Steven Seagal will be especially disappointed; yes, there are a few short action scenes, and people do die (most from natural causes). But much of the film is so sugary sweet that when it's all over, you will envy the dead.

I've seen a lot of Steven Seagal movies. I enjoy a lot of them. But I have to be honest, I don't always know if "laughing with him or at him". If you know what I'm saying. Steven Seagal in "The Patriot" is the Seagal I like best. He speaking quietly of "important" issues and then throws some guy through a window. He's a modern day Billy Jack and, every now and then, I need that. "The Patriot" is not Seagal's finest hour but it's not one of his weak ones either. It okay. It gets a passing grade.

The Patriot is getting a lot of bad reviews from fans because of its lack of action. But The Patriot is suppose to be a vehicle to show that Seagal can really act, and I am happy to report that the guy is a really good actor. The plot is about the outbreak of a deadly virus in a small town. I am a big fan of Steven Seagal and I like the way he has been picking his movies. Fire Down Below was better than his prior films "On Deadly Grounds" and "The Glimmer Man" because of its slick directing and editing, and his cameo in "My Giant" was hilarious. The Patriot ranks with "Above the Law", "Marked for Death", "Under Siege", "Fire Down Below" and "Executive Decision" as one of his best films. I personally can't wait till his film version of Genghis Khan comes out. I give this one a solid 9/10