Patriot, The [Special Edition]

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Movies about the American Revolutionary War have never fared well at the box office. Just ask Al Pacino ("Revolution"). On the other hand, "The Patriot" is the exception. It was great summer fun and did a rousing business in movie houses. That doesn't mean it's better than most in any deep, artistic way; it's just a well-made, well-acted spectacle that grabs at the heartstrings as well as the eyes and ears. What's more, Columbia TriStar's DVD presentation not only perfectly captures every ounce of colonial color and every musket shot of battle, the disc itself is loaded with enough extras to extend the home viewer's audiovisual experience for hours. The movie may not have pleased the British press, but the overall package will not displease the home-theater buff.

The main criticisms that can be levied against "The Patriot" are those that equally apply to director Roland Emmerich's "Independence Day"; namely, that he and producer Dean Devlin go for visceral excitement and caricatures rather than logic and realism. Well, nobody said this was going to be a biographical drama or a history lesson. It's basically an old-fashioned, patriotic shoot-'em-up that just happens to be set during the Revolution and happens to use the names of many real, historical characters.

Now, we know this is going to be an epic for a number of reasons. First, the back of the keep case tells us it's two-and-three-quarter hours long. That's epic. Second, it has a musical score by John Williams. That's epic in itself. Third, it stars Mel Gibson, fresh from his success in "Braveheart," certainly an epic. Fourth, there's the aforementioned director, Roland Emmerich, late of "ID4" and "Godzilla," quasi epics. And lastly, there's a reputed cast of thousands. That's what epics are all about.

Fortunately, this epic has a heart in the person of Mel Gibson. Without him I'm afraid we might have had another "Waterworld" or "The Postman." Forgive me, Mr. Costner. Gibson invests his part with gallantry and kindness, passion and soul. It also helps, as it helped in "Braveheart," that he's part madman. For, you see, "The Patriot" is really "Braveheart" in disguise. I mean, if it worked once, why not again? If you recall in "Braveheart," Gibson played a mild-mannered, peace-loving farmer named William Wallace who wanted no part of the Scottish clans' revolt against an oppressive English king. In "The Patriot" Gibson plays a mild-mannered, peace-loving farmer named Benjamin Martin, a widower with seven children, who wants no part of the colonists' revolt against an oppressive English king. In "Braveheart" his wife was murdered by the English, at which point he vaulted into action, killing English soldiers in all directions. In "The Patriot" his son is murdered by the English, at which point he vaults into action, killing English soldiers in all directions; he even wields an ax like Wallace. In "Braveheart" William Wallace eventually became a leader of the clans in their war against England. In "Braveheart" Benjamin Martin eventually becomes a leader of the South Carolina militia in their war against England. Is it any wonder the current British press think Gibson has a grudge against their country?

The villain in the piece is a brutal English officer, Col. William Tavington (Jason Isaacs), who will stop at nothing to get his way. His idea of a good time is to lock men, women, and children in a church and set it afire. Well, the present-day British had a conniption over that. They admit Tavington is based on a real-life figure but claim he never went so far as to burn a church full of people. The filmmakers counter by saying he did things just as brutal, and they were merely exercising poetic license. The moral here is not to accept the film as historical fact.

At the heart of the picture is Martin's relationship with his oldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), who is as headstrong as apparently his father was at his age. He's eighteen and joins the Continental Army against his father's wishes. You see, deep in Benjamin Martin's past he was a soldier himself, a hero who is now trying to forget the slaughter he wreaked upon his enemies. But there's no stopping young Gabriel, who goes off to war to the swells of John Williams' Wagnerian battle music.

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