A gritty and bloody war drama perfect for celebrating America's 250th!
All pictures and videos used in this legal under the terms of the faiir use agreement of 1976
God bless America and happy Fourth of July everyone! Welcome to the great All-American movie review. As selected in the voting process the viewers have chosen the movie The Patriot. It's not the most accurate film from a historical angle. But this Roland Emmerich film from 2000 is still an excellent story.
And since I pride myself on giving the readers what they want here is my review.
The movie starts off in the year 1776 in Berkeley County, South Carolina. The Continental Army is struggling to free themselves from the British Empire. Many are not pleased with the taxation and the way Britain's leaning on the colonies. Benjamin Martin is a colonist and a veteran of the French Indian war. Yet the experience has left him traumatized.
Mel Gibson took on the part of Benjamin Martin. He lives on a plantation with his seven children. He is also a widower trying to live a life of peace. But a mailman on horseback comes to the plantation. The South Carolina General Assembly has called a meeting in Charles town (Charleston).
They are voting on whether to support the Continental Army in their war for liberation. Benjamin takes his family and heads to Charles Town. There they stay with Benjamin’s sister-in-law. The children and those who played them are as follows.
Heath Ledger played Benjamin's eldest, Gabriel Edward Martin. Gregory Smith played Thomas Martin, Benjamin’s second born. Trevor Morgan played Nathan Martin, the third child. Bryan Chafin played Samuel Martin, the fourth born. Mika Boorem, Logan Lerman, and Skye McCole Bartsuiak round out the cast of Martin's kids.
The part of Charlotte Selton got taken on by actress Joely Richardson.
The night before the General Assembly is a raucous time. Wild parties, burning of red coat effigies, and even people shooting off their pistols. Amid the craziness Gabriel runs into a young lady around his age. This person is Patricia Howard played by Lisa Brenner. She's Gabriel's childhood friend and hasn't forgiven him for the time he put ink in her tea.
During that night Patricia’s father, Peter Howard, played by Joey D. Viere speaks up. He talks about the injustice of what the parliament and King are doing.
The next day the General Assembly takes place. Colonel Harry Burwell speaks for the Continental Army. Yet Benjamin Martin is wary of going to war with Britain and votes to abstain from voting on this measure. At which point his principles get called into question. Instead, he chooses to think of his children.
No disrespect intended Benjamin Martin but there's an old saying that goes like this. Evil, or in this case injustice, wins when good men do nothing. The measure passes and South Carolina agrees to a levy for the Continental Army. Gabriel enlists in the army feeling that he needs to fight for the independence of the 13 colonies. Much to the chagrin of his father.
Four years pass and it's now 1780 and things are not going well! The British have taken Charles Town. Benjamin's sister-in-law has fled to her plantation in the countryside. Meanwhile Benjamin has tried to stay out of the war. Unfortunately for him the war is about to hit home on a personal level.
One night a large force of British and American soldiers come through fighting. Benjamin's servants and his family care for the wounded on both sides. Among the injured is Gabriel. See, when good men do nothing evil triumphs, or in this case bad things happen. But things are about to get even worse for the Martin family.
From out of the woods and the fields comes a massive force of British Dragoons. Leading them is the ruthless Colonel William Tavington. This part got played to delicious perfection by actor Jason Isaacs. The ruthless British colonel proceeds to press gang all the servants of Martin. He then arrests Gabriel for treason.
Thomas who's been growing restless over what the British are doing chooses to act. Tavington shoots the boy dead. Oh, William you've signed your own death warrant. He orders that all enemy soldiers get executed in cold blood. He then orders Martin's house and property burnt to the ground as an example.
Oh boy is this guy ever asking for it!
At that moment cradling his dead son Benjamin Martin snaps. He rushes into the house and grabs some muskets, ammunition, and his Cherokee tomahawk. He comes out and rounds up two of his sons Sam and Nate. They go after the cart that has Gabriel as a captive. Nathan And Samuel proceed to take out the soldiers from the forest.
Benjamin runs around like a phantom and slaughters every last British soldier. And the three sons look on in horror when they see the depth of their father's brutality. A harsh reminder that a vengeful father is a force of terror unlike anything else.
This begs the question what happened to him during the French Indian War that traumatized him so bad? The answer will come later in the movie. After getting patched up Gabriel returns to the Colonial Army. At first Benjamin is wary to let his son go until Gabriel reminds him of duty. Benjamin leaves his younger children in the care of his sister-in-law Charlotte.
He then follows his son as they head off to the Continental Army camp. There Benjamin has a reunion with his former commanding officer Col Harry Burwell. The Colonel assigns the older man the task of building a militia. Their goal is to weaken the forces of General Charles Cornwallis in the south. The part of Lord Cornwallis got played by Tom Wilkinson.
The part of Harry Burwell got taken on by actor Chris Cooper.
Assisting this Continental army is Jean Villenueve a soldier from the French Army. And at the start of the film, he holds a grudge against Benjamin for his actions during the French Indian War. He agrees to train the militia and says reinforcements are coming from France. But the problem is they're months away. Well, isn't that peachy!
Of note the part of Jean Villenueve got played by actor Tcheky Karyo.
Benjamin also assigns his eldest son to his unit under his command. He wants them to ride together to recruit others. But Gabriel explains it would be better if they separated and recruited on their own. Benjamin agrees to it but is reluctant. The two head off in separate directions.
Gabriel's journey takes him to a nearby small town and a church. There he finds some of the local citizens got hanged as traitors. Gee what a lovely sight to greet people outside a house of God. Inside the church Gabriel interrupts a sermon going on. Among those within is one Reverend Oliver.
This character got portrayed by the late/great Rene Auberjonis. At first Gabriel's words fall on terrified ears. But then the young man gets help from Patricia. Among the recruits is Reverend Oliver. He explains that sometimes a shepherd must protect his flock from the wolves.
That's a fair point and a little bit of divine inspiration reverend.
Meanwhile Benjamin and Jean end up at a tavern near a swampland. At first the Frenchman is unsure if this is the place to recruit. That changes when Benjamin shouts, "God save the king. "
As it turns up saying such in this tavern is like kicking over a Hornet's nest, yikes! After things settle down the eldest Martin begins recruiting people. Among those recruited are some friends and neighbors of his. Together they head to the camp and begin wreaking havoc on the British.
At first the men are in conflict because some are behaving in a civil fashion. Yet others are behaving like thugs. But Benjamin manages to bring the militia together. During this time one member of interest is Ocam, a slave, portrayed in the movie by Arlen Jones. Another person of interest is Dan Scott, played in the movie by Donal Logue.
He starts out as a racist who bullies Ocam. But over the course of the movie, he befriends the black man. That's the thing about war, prejudice and such go out the window when one's life is on the line. And the two grow to become friends. Now that is some great character development.
Martin's militia proceeds to harass and annoy the British in all kinds of creative ways. They steal general Cornwallis' journal and correspondence. They also take two Great Danes he'd asked for. They also burn the ferries that bring Cornwallis' supplies. That would annoy even the most moderated of people.
Meanwhile it becomes clear why Tavington is the horrible brute that he is. It seems his father squandered his family's wealth. So, he has a serious chip on his shoulder. Talk about daddy issues!
In an interlude Benjamin and Gabriel bond around a campfire. The older Martin relates the bloody story of events during the French Indian war. Some Cherokee had slaughtered British settlers. While serving in the British military the older Martin and his men went after the murderers. They were victorious but the victory felt hollow to Benjamin.
He got traumatized by the brutality of what happened. Considering how bloody it was it's understandable.
Tavington and his men spring an ambush and manage to capture some of Benjamin’s men. The plan was to execute them, but Martin comes to Cornwallis' fort. He explains that his people have captured some of the General's soldiers. It's at this point Tavington arrives at the fort and he remembers Martin. The two men face off, and the colonel tries to get a reaction out of Benjamin.
But the elder Martin keeps his cool. Though he makes one thing clear to the brutal British Colonel. "Before this war is over, I'm going to kill you."
Tavington's response, "Why wait?"
Ooh the trash talk is superb! This was some great acting between Gibson and Isaacs. Anyone who viewed this scene got the sense that these were two men who hate each other. The way Mel Gibson's character states this isn't dramatic, or overdone, it was a matter of fact.
Benjamin's men leave and the so-called officers prove nothing more than dummies. Not only that but the Great Danes bonded with Martin and follow at his call. Ooh karma is a harsh mistress.
After that Cornwallis decides to take the gloves off. He allows Tavington to do things his way. The British begin burning down the homes of known rebels and killing their families. One rebel commits suicide after the murders of his wife and son. The brutal colonel and his men go after Benjamin's family.
After a tense game of hide and seek Charlotte and Martin's children manage to escape. They end up at a Gullah, a township of former slaves. Talk about a close shave, yikes!
There Gabriel and Patricia get married after a long-distance courtship. Fun fact for the history buffs out there. In days of old when a young man wanted to date or court a lady, he had to ask the permission of the father first. Gabriel did so and in the township of former slaves the young man and Patricia get married. Reverend Oliver performs the ceremony since he is a priest.
But things soon turn ugly as Tavington discovers the township has been aiding the rebels. And he proceeds to burn the church with the townsfolk in it. A disgusting and barbaric move. Gabriel and Oliver are among those enraged by this and go after the Colonel. Benjamin follows behind.
After that it's a countdown to the confrontation between the Colonel and Benjamin. And the question becomes who else will die before the final confrontation?
Now what makes this movie perfect for the fourth of July is it doesn't glorify war. it shows all the gritty, bloody ugliness of it. It shows that there were both good and bad on both sides in the war. Yet the movie showed how it was the cause of the American colonies which was in the right.
Mel Gibson gives a solid performance as Benjamin Martin in this movie. He's a man haunted by memories of past deeds that he's celebrated for that yuet he felt they weren't very heroic.
Jason Isaacs is delicious as the brutal and merciless Colonel William Tavington. He's a vicious and complex man with daddy issues. And he's willing to do whatever it takes to see that the crown maintains control of the colonies. Even as he seeks to improve his own standing.
Heath Ledger also gives a solid performance as Gabriel Martin. He's a young man with no ties to England who believes in the rightness of the cause. It's a pity that drugs would take his life. Ledger had so much potential.
And last but not least respect goes out to the late/great Rene Auberjonis. His role as Reverend Oliver proves that he has some solid acting chops.
So in conclusion The Patriot is a gritty and bloody war drama. Without a doubt this isn't meant for kids, at least not without the company of adults to explain things to them. But this is still a very solid movie with a great story and great characters. This is the perfect movie for celebrating America's 250th or any 4th of July. So, in closing I give The Patriot a solid 8 out of 10 giving it a B plus rating.
A perfect patriotic film for this time of year.
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