The Patriot Review
By: Josh Dittler
Starring: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Tcheky Karyo, Jason Isaacs,
Tom Wilkinson, and Chris Cooper.
Directed By: Roland Emmerich
Parental Adversary: R
Running Time: 165 Minutes
Rating: 4.5/5
I believe The Patriot is the best or one of the best movies Mel Gibson has starred
in. I find this movie to be exciting and it shows how war use to be like and the hard time
that war brought to families and young and old going to fight for their freedom.
The movie begins with Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) placing a tomahawk in a
chest where there are letters, and a knife and other articles of war. Benjamin’s first words
were “I have long feared that my sins would return to visit me”.
We found are self’s in South Carolina during the American Revolution at a
farmers house where he has seven children and we quickly discover that Benjamin’s wife
has past away, and we quickly learn that Benjamin’s has a dark side hidden from his
family.
Like his other Gibson movie (Mad Max, Road Warrior, Lethal Weapon, etc…)
this one has some action with some drama thrown in to it.
Now as a Conscientious objector he is forced to return back to war with the
wounded and capture of his oldest son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) and the death of his 2nd
oldest son Thomas (Gregory Smith).
Heath Ledger plays a good supporting role as Gabriel Martin the son of Benjamin
Martin. Joely Richardson play as Charlotte Benjamin’s deceased wife’s sister. Lisa
Brenner plays as Anne Howard, and she fall in love with Gabriel. Jason Isaacs’s plays as
Col. William Tavington a ruthless dragoon go the British side of the war. Chris Cooper
plays as Col. Harry Burwell for the Continental army and friends with Benjamin.
A con would be it is focused to much on Benjamin Martin once he comes it is just
about him and winning, it pretty much says without him they would have won and they
would have lost the war and be before he came they were a breath away from losing.
This movie is also way to long they could have shortened it by ½ an hour.
A pro to this movie is that there are lots of good war scene where they are on the
frontier and there is lots of blood, and then there is the odd mystery every once I awhile.