Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot is adequate popcorn entertainment in the guise of something deeper. It is undoubtedly a film for this Veteran’s Day, which paints the American revolutionaries as saints fighting on the side of good, while the British are soulless murdering machines. This is not a film which aims for historical veracity, but instead gives us fairly exciting battle scenes in between sometimes endless scenes of one-dimensional melodrama only to come to this conclusion: America! F*** yeah!
This is not a bad attitude to have, per se, because I am from America. So, f*** yeah and all that. It’s just that when one denigrates another country for this purpose, I begin to have my problems. Emmerich’s own Independence Day carried a similar America! message, but it also called out for the world to unite to solve its problems (albeit in the least subtle way possible). The Patriot relies too heavily on looking down at the British and their violent, imperial ways. Move over, boys, because freedom is coming! Rock, flag and eagle!
Our hero is Benjamin “Apple Pie” Martin (as I shall forever call him), and he is opposed to starting a war with the British. Since we are watching a movie called The Patriot starring Mel Gibson, we know he will eventually be leading the fights himself. For now, though, Martin just comes off as an old coot living behind the times. There’s a revolution happening here, pops! Hop on board!
He decides that maybe it’s time to open his colonial can of booty kickin’ when his son is shot and killed by the cold-blooded Brit William Tavington (Jason “Lucius Malfoy” Isaacs). Suddenly Martin turns into Liam Neeson from Taken, chopping and shooting his way through British soldiers with an incomparable speed and precision. Critical of the traditional methods of battle, Martin takes over the militia and begins to utilize more guerrilla methods of warfare. He earns a reputation as a “ghost” among the British. Along with him come his eldest son Gabriel (a very good Heath Ledger) and an assortment of other characters.
The Patriot is a caricature of a movie, but at times it refuses to acknowledge it. The film is at its best when in the heat of battle, but the film seems to be aiming for Oscar gold, something that is (normally) awarded to films of more depth. Here these characters have simple motivations and inhabit a picture-book colonial world, and the film is quite overlong, but I was rarely bored. Emmerich usually is cognizant of when he is making trash (he took his schlock levels to a perverse but almost admirable extreme in last year’s 2012), but here he seems to be under the delusion that this could be his masterpiece. In fact, Emmerich does not seem capable of making a true masterpiece.
That said, I admire Emmerich more than most of Hollywood’s trash producers. He is patient with his action, intent on giving his audiences a show rather than having them run to catch up. He wishes to woo his audiences rather than blow things up in their face, and on that level he remains successful. As far as human emotion and true impact, he’s got a way to go. How believable his characters are mostly relies on the actors.
They are quite good, doing what they can with thinly written parts. Ledger is a standout, and Gibson is a real actor, remember that? For actors that deal with plotlines that come and go and simple motivations, Gibson, Ledger and others such as Chris Cooper and Donal Logue are able to make an impact. No one has much to chew on, but they give the illusion of a depth nonexistent.
Rating: 
(out of 4)
(out of 4)
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