Review of The Patriot (2000) by Shane D — 02 May 2010

I guess The Patriot signifies the last point in time where Mel Gibson was Mel Gibson the marquee movie star and not the entity he has become now. Not saying necessarily that this is a good movie, it just represents on of his last starring roles in a good old fashioned star vehicle.

Feeling somewhat like a retread of Braveheart, just featuring a different group of rebels fighting the more powerful monarchy, this also features one of Heath Ledgerâ??s first break through roles. Acting all round in this feature suffers a little, verging on pretty bad at times.

Overall though, itâ??s a typical â??based on historical eventsâ?? outing which, if you check your brain at the door, will probably keep you entertained well enough. Youâ??ve seen it before, so you will enjoy predicting who dies, who performs admirably in the face of death, who chickens out, who takes a cheap shot before their eventual karmic demise and which bad guy will see the error of his ways deciding to redeem himself at the last moment.

Standard stuff.