The Patriot (2000)
Average Rating: 6.1/10
Reviews Counted: 133
Fresh: 82 | Rotten: 51
The Patriot can be entertaining to watch, but it relies too much on formula and melodrama.
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 15 | Rotten: 16
The Patriot can be entertaining to watch, but it relies too much on formula and melodrama.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 390,310
My Rating
Movie Info
Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, the director/producer team responsible for such sci-fi blockbusters as Independence Day, Stargate, and Godzilla, take a step back in time with this drama set during the American Revolution. Farmer Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) was born and raised in South Carolina, and fought bravely during the French-Indian wars. But since the death of his wife, Benjamin has renounced violence and quietly tends his crops, raising his seven children alone. In 1776, over Benjamin's
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Cast
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Mel Gibson
Benjamin Martin -
Heath Ledger
Gabriel Martin -
Joely Richardson
Charlotte Selton -
Jason Isaacs
Colonel William Tavingt... -
Chris Cooper
Colonel Harry Burwell -
Tcheky Karyo
Major Jean Villeneuve -
Rene Auberjonois
Rev. Oliver -
Lisa Brenner
Anne Howard -
Tom Wilkinson
Charles Cornwallis -
Donal Logue
Dan Scott -
Leon Rippy
John Billings -
Adam Baldwin
Loyalist/Captain Wilkin... -
Gregory Smith
Thomas Martin -
Mika Boorem
Margaret Martin -
Skye McCole Bartusiak
Susan Martin -
Trevor Morgan
Nathan Martin -
Joey D. Vieira
Peter Howard -
Jay Arlen Jones
Occam -
Beatrice Bush
Abigale -
Shannon Eubanks
Mrs. Simms -
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The Patriot Trailer & Photos
All Critics (152) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (85) | Rotten (52) | DVD (37)
Emmerich's battle scenes may look authentic to anyone who has ever stared hard at a history book, but in every other way the film is long, empty and bogus.
Top CriticMake no mistake about it: The Patriot is a cartoon, even if it does have real people playing the parts.
A grand yarn with a sense of the weight of history and an awareness that the winners are often those who have lost the most.
Deserves a salute as the first Hollywood epic about the American Revolution to successfully blend ferocity and feeling.
A movie of cornball sentiment, humorously anachronistic dialogue, and expensive Colonial Williamsburg sets.
It wisely focuses upon common folk rather than prominent figures.
has its moments
Many graphic battle scenes, not for all teens.
While his hero is conscience-stricken about killing, Emmerich sure enjoys serving it up in generous helpings.
A big-budget epic of the American Revolution, with Mel Gibson, of all people, leading the charge.
I never got past the sense that these were actors acting in a drama that was trying awfully hard to be epic.
Bloody, overlong and straining for significance ...
Often melodramatic and manipulative but it is solid, involving filmmaking so one willingly takes the ride it offers.
It's the plot that's hackneyed.
The Patriot is best when it focuses on Gibson. Unfortunately, half the time it focuses on Ledger.
Audience Reviews for The Patriot
"Some things are worth fighting for."
I have seen The Patriot countless times by now, and yet I still love it. While a lot of epics seem distant and cold, this one has an amazing amount of heart involved. That isn't to say that it isn't the violent war film it is notable for. There's an extreme amount of blood, but in between the battles, there's also an extreme amount of feeling. The film is long, but not a second is wasted. There's always something going on. If there isn't a battle going on, there's character development or plot development. This film is as much about family as it is about the Revolutionary War. There's a humungous cast of good actors, some big names(Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Tom Wilkinson) and a variety of other character actors(Joely Richardson, Donald Logue). Besides being just another war movie, this has a lot more going on. It's at times beautiful, at times brutal, at times sad, at times humorous, and at times exciting.
The Patriot centers the Revolutionary War around a man named Benjamin Martin and his involvement in the war. At first he doesn't want South Carolina to go to war along with some of the other colonies because he knows innocent people will die. When the war happens in his front yard and one of his sons is murdered by Tavington(a truly good villain), he joins up. The Continental Army is vastly undermanned, which brings up the usage of guerilla warfare, which Martin and his militia use to great effectiveness. His men aren't real soldiers, but "farmers." They are just ordinary men who join up to fight off the Redcoats.
The most notable thing about the film is obviously the battle scenes. They are violent and pretty realistic. The battle scenes are filmed beautifully, for lack of a better word. This is easily Ronald Emmerich's best film. He's done some other stuff that is fun, but not what you'd call great filmmaking(Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012), but this is grand, epic filmmaking. I know there's a lot of people out there that don't believe this film to be great, but I certainly don't agree with them. As far as war epics go, this is about as big and good as they can come. I'm not saying it is the best war movie ever, but it deserves more respect then it has gotten.
It's an emotionally powerful movie in my opinion. Sure it shows a fictionalized story on how America came to be through the Revolutionary War, but the family themes of the movie is what shine through more then anything else. There's a lot of big themes going on here too: freedom, love, honor, respect, revenge, and perseverance; but in the end, family is the biggest theme. The Patriot just misses being a complete masterpiece, but as it is, it's still an amazing achievement and a great film.
Super Reviewer
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- Colonel William Tavington: It appears that you are not the better man.
- Gabriel Martin: You're right. My sons were better men [stabs him in the neck]
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- Colonel William Tavington: You are not a good man.
- Gabriel Martin: But, my sons were good men. [stabs him in the neck]
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- Colonel William Tavington: You know it's an ugly business doing one's duty, but just occasionally. It's a real pleasure.
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- Colonel William Tavington: Let it be known if you harbor the enemy you will lose your home.
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- Gabriel Martin: [shouting] I'm not a child.
- Benjamin Martin: [shouting] You're my child.
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- Colonel William Tavington: Would you like a lesson, sir, in the rules of war? Or perhaps your children would?
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