The Patriot (2000) * * *

 

Directed by:  Roland Emmerich

Starring:  Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Chris Cooper, Tom Wilkinson, Jason Isaacs, Tcheky Karyo, Joely Richardson, Adam Baldwin, Peter Woodward

Mel Gibson channels the same rage which fueled his performance in Braveheart (1995) in the Revolutionary War epic The Patriot.  In The Patriot, Gibson is Benjamin Martin, a Southern farmer twenty years removed from his service in the French and Indian War, where he discovered his capacity for violence during some crucial battles.  He fathered seven children, his wife recently passed, and now the Redcoats are knocking at his town's doorstep.  The town favors war, but Benjamin argues for peace.  Soon, though, Col. William Tavington (Isaacs) kills his son, takes the other hostage to be hung for being in the Continental Army, and burns his home.  An enraged Benjamin seeks revenge, and so much for pacifism.

Gibson is at home in such a role.  We've seen the genesis of it in the Lethal Weapon movies and Braveheart, and now in The Patriot.  He's really good at these types of roles with his command of the screen.   The Patriot isn't a documentary of the Revolutionary War, but an action movie in which the Revolutionary War is a backdrop.  Col. Tavington is so malevolent and vicious that even his commanding officer Lord Cornwallis (Wilkinson), who wants the British Army to fight "a gentleman's war" admonishes him...to a point.  Meanwhile, Martin undoes all of his own arguments against fighting, which is understandable considering the circumstances. 

We have a competent, solid hero in Benjamin Martin versus evil personified in Col. Tavington.  The Patriot follows this formula to a tee, and delivers in that regard.  Some of the more personal subplots allow things to drag a bit, and if those were erased, The Patriot would be two hours of gripping action.  Even so, The Patriot still works as a skilled revenge picture.