The Patriot is a film that I've always had mixed feelings about. After seeing it again recently, I think I have a more coherent idea of how I feel about this film.
To sum this film up neatly, it is a retelling of the story we know in Braveheart, with some alterations and being slightly worse.
From a historical standpoint, The Patriot is about as historically accurate as Braveheart - that meaning that it really isn't. By now, many have already meticulously picked apart its inaccuracies so I won't really dwell on it too much. But as a piece of popular cinema, I don't think this film's intention is to be historically accurate anyway.
The Patriot is an impressive looking film, I believe. The action sequences are exciting to watch and the scale of the battles are appropriate enough where there aren't noticeable CGI people also partaking in the fight.
Speaking of the CG effects, they are looking a bit dated now. Some of the computer generated blue screen backgrounds don't look very convincing, especially when they go to Charles Town at the beginning of the film. But since the shots don't dwell too much on them, it's not too bi a deal, I believe.
The acting performances aren't bad at all. Mel Gibson found his niche after Braveheart and went with it and his performance here translates incredibly well. The actors that portray the various British officers in this film do put on a bit of a James Bond villain performance and it does get a little distracting, but there is some complexity in the writing at times that makes up for that in those moments.
It's also to be noted that the soundtrack for this film is amazing. Of course, this is the work of John Williams and it goes extraordinarily well when paired with this film. It is the shining aspect of this film and I cannot compliment it enough. It has to be one of the more underrated works John Williams has done.
Where this film ultimately loses me is when it comes to the issue of slavery. I understand this is among the myriad of other historical inaccuracies with this film, but it's this particular aspect of American history that really hurts it the most. The most obvious example of this is when the workers on Martin's farm say that they work his land but are not slaves. It is also framed in this film that the British army offering freedom to any slave who serves with them is a bad thing, but later when the American army announces something similar, suddenly it's righteous. This, of course, wasn't the case and it's very misleading. There's a scene in the film where Gabriel makes a promise that once the British are defeated, the old world will be pushed out and a new world can be built; one where all people are free. This is so obviously untrue but the film ignores it. As a result, it feels like the one slave character shown in the whole film is duped into serving with the continentals just to be enslaved again once the eventual government decides, through inaction, that slavery is necessary. I get images of the American Civil War in my mind every time I see that scene, and it's that scene that really hurts this film the most- but ironically enough, maybe the most accurate part of it...
The Patriot is interesting. I feel it's a bit long. Granted, I'm just coming from seeing the extended cut but I do think this film could have gone without some things. Not horrible if you're looking for a fictional story that takes place in a real time in history. Just don't use it as an educational tool unless you're going to talk about the uniforms and clothing of that period.
