Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, The Patriot qualifies as respectable entertainment, but anyone expecting a definitive drama about the American Revolution should look elsewhere. Rising above the blatant crowd pleasing of Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, director Roland Emmerich crafts a marvelous re-creation of South Carolina in the late 1770s (aided immeasurably by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel), and Robert Rodat's screenplay offers the same balance of epic scale and emotional urgency that elevated his earlier script for Saving Private Ryan. Unfortunately, Emmerich embraces clichés and hackneyed melodrama that a more gifted director would have avoided. Instead of attempting a truly great film about the most pivotal years of American history, Emmerich settles for a standard revenge plot with the Revolutionary War as an incidental backdrop.
On those terms, the film is engrossing and sufficiently intelligent, especially when militia leader Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) cagily negotiates with British General Cornwallis (Tom Wilkinson) in one of the most rewarding scenes. For the most part, the story concerns Martin's anguished quest for revenge against ruthless redcoat Colonel Tavington (played with snide relish by Jason Isaacs), and the rise to manhood of Martin's eldest son, Gabriel (Heath Ledger), whose battlefield honor exceeds even that of his brutally volatile father. At its best, The Patriot conveys the horror of war among innocent civilians, and the epic battle scenes, while by no means masterful, are graphically intense and impressive. And although Ledger's love interest (Lisa Brenner) is too bland to register much emotion, the focus on family (which frequently relegates the war to background history) provides a suitable vehicle for Gibson, who matches his achievement in Braveheart with an effectively brooding performance. --Jeff Shannon
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Audience Rating: Unrated Binding: Blu-ray Brand: SONY PICTURES HOME ENT EAN: 0043396167186 Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen Item Dimensions:100 Label: Columbia Pictures Languages:EnglishOriginal LanguageFrenchOriginal LanguageCzechOriginal LanguagePolishOriginal LanguageCzechSubtitledPortugueseSubtitledSpanishSubtitledCzechDubbedFrenchDubbedGermanDubbed Manufacturer: Columbia Pictures MPN: BR16718 Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Columbia Pictures Release Date: July 03, 2007 Running Time: 174 minutes Studio: Columbia Pictures Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Customer Reviews
Blu Ray quality just not there
After reading numerous reviews of the quality of this Blu-ray disc, I bought it on Amazon. I was very disappointed. the movie is grainy. Sure you can say it has the grain from film. Just please tell us in the review. I was expecting a Planet Earth quality. It is hard to get by the graininess since HD shows it even more.
I won't review the movie but I think the DVD may be a better option.