The Patriot starts off a bit slow. Mel Gibson, a hero of the French and Indian War, decides not to participate when approached to help fight the British. He’s sick of war and would rather spend time with his family. Mel’s son, Heath Ledger, joins the army without Mel’s permission. Jason Isaacs decides to be a bastard and kills one of Mel Gibson’s younger sons. Mel Gibson gets pissed, joins the fight against the British, and engages in many battles.

Mel Gibson isn’t his usual smiling, comedic self here. Much of the movie he either broods over the death of his wife or the death of his son. I thought his earlier fight scenes were more effective, when he snipes at British soldiers from behind trees and charges at them with an axe. The movie’s final battle ends in the more effective hand-to-hand combat, but much of the other battles are rows of men in lines shooting at each other. There is an excellent scene where someone’s head gets blown off by a cannonball.

At a length of almost 3 hours, The Patriot feels a bit too long at times. Some of the fight scenes could have been shortened, as well as a 20-minute sequence where everyone takes a break from fighting and Heath Ledger decides to get married. Editing about 30 or so minutes out of the movie would have cut the length to a little over 2 hours, a much more reasonable length. Then again, I’m not a movie editor, I’m a movie reviewer. The Patriot’s epilogue is a bit too long, topping everything off with a cheesy ending.

Patriot is definitely not a Braveheart set during the Revolutionary War—it’s not as good, but it’s not awful.

I give The Patriot *** out of ****.