Mel Gibson in "The Patriot."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film an: Stars: Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger Director: Roland Emmerich Rated: R, with strong violence Length: 158 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(June 28, 2000) -- For whatever reasons, the American Revolution has not proven to be the stuff of great films. Despite its inherent passion, idealism and violence, the revolution steadfastly resists a definitive cinematic statement.

That said, The Patriot, the epic colonial adventure with Mel Gibson, comes as close to greatness as any film with the grit and glory of 1776 as its backdrop.

The Patriot falls short only because it plays the personal revenge card instead of stressing the ideals of the American Revolution. The central character's blood lust overtakes patriotic fervor.

Still, much of The Patriot is inspiring and engrossing, offering a vivid sense of the place, time and intriguing 18th-century characters of every stripe -- political, racial, social. And it's just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.

Over the course of its powerful first hour, The Patriot approaches the grandeur of the better John Ford films, echoing the master's blend of action, humor, sentiment and patriotic idealism.

Director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day) and writer Robert Rodat (Saving Private Ryan) can't sustain that impact for the film's full 158 minutes, yet The Patriot remains a potent adventure that offers a greater understanding of our nation's roots.

Set in South Carolina at the start of the Revolution, the film stars Gibson as Benjamin Martin, a hero of the French and Indian War, but now a determined pacifist.

Scarred by the bloody warfare of his youth, Martin is a widower who desires only to live in peace and raise his seven children. Though opposed to taxation without representation and other injustices of the crown, Martin hopes that peaceful petitioning will solve the colonists' problems.

Many of his neighbors, though, believe rebellion is their only option.

Among them is Martin's 18-year-old son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger). He joins the army in defiance of his father.

But later, when Gabriel is taken prisoner by the British -- and a British Dragoon officer coldly murders another of Martin's children -- the reluctant warrior is forced into action.

Martin is made a colonel of the South Carolina militia and enlists neighbors. The militia's goal is to harass Gen. Cornwallis' British troops to delay their march northward, where George Washington is organizing the Continental Army.

Chief among the English opposition is the squadron of Dragoons headed by Col. Tavington (Jason Isaacs), the same heartless officer who shot Martin's child. Tavington becomes Martin's nemesis and the film's antagonist of overstated evil.

Cornwallis is offended enough by the South Carolina militia that he allows Tavington to institute a scorched-earth policy, with no regard for the rules of war.

This makes Tavington the man we filmgoers love to hate -- and too obvious a target for Martin's passionate vengeance.

Gibson is well-cast as Martin, ably projecting the physical and mental skills of a warrior, but also the character's deep sense of family. (Gibson, too, is the father of seven children.)

Heath Ledger, the handsome young Australian star of 10 Things I Hate About You, is appealing and credible as Martin's rebellious son.

Among supporting players, most successful are Chris Cooper as a decent and dedicated Continental Army officer and Tom Wilkinson as the complex, upper-crust Lord Cornwallis.

But Jason Isaacs practically twirls his moustache as the inhuman Col. Tavington.

He's clearly been directed to create this over-the-top bloodthirsty role, but it's the weak link in this otherwise-commendable enterprise.