The Patriot Poster

The Patriot (2000)

Action | History 
Rayting:   7.2/10 255.8K votes
Country: USA | Germany
Language: English
Release date: 27 July 2000

Peaceful farmer Benjamin Martin is driven to lead the Colonial Militia during the American Revolution when a sadistic British officer murders his son.

Movie Trailer

Where to Watch

User Reviews

amierob 20 February 2001

I was hesitant to see this movie due to the violence I had heard about. Yes, the movie is violent. But it is also fantastic.

I love Mel Gibson as a family man. He's always a great hero, but he displayed a warm, compassionate side too. His scene crying over his son will break your heart.

I cannot recommend this film enough. My only regret is that a PG version is not also put out, so that younger viewers can also see it.

Chris20035 12 June 2001

Fmovies: "The Patriot" was an amazing thrill ride. With outstanding performances from Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, and many others, "The Patriot" was hands down the best movie i have ever seen. The old revolutionary war scenes and battles make this movie a tremendous action film. It is also topped off with some amazing drama. The acting in this movie was just unbelievable, which helps make this the best War Movie i have ever seen.

evanmatthews53 29 October 2008

As a fan of historical films, I really enjoyed the movie " The Patriot" starring Mel Gibson who skillfully portrays the role of an American colonial during the Revolutionary War. Actors like Gibson have a talent for making history come alive on screen and engaging the audience. The movie held my interest. It was never dull or slow. The sets were just great and I often felt like I was in the middle of a battlefield. I loved the flashes of color, cannons blazing, colonial flags waving, the columns of British soldiers dressed in their best and brightest uniforms and the array of women and children who were colorful parts of colonial America. All in all, this was well worth the watch and a real change from the usual long list of action packed, special effects films which are a bit overdone.

Nedla24 15 September 2000

The Patriot fmovies. I was expecting Gladiator to be Braveheart 2, but that title goes to The Patriot. What this movie has above all other movies this summer is a script. Robert Rodat, who penned Saving Private Ryan, paints this Revolutionary drama with wonderfully broad strokes, but does not forget the human aspect. Mel Gibson shows his acting chops in a characer similar to Wallace, but far more complex. However, it is Jason Isaacs that, in the spirit of Alan Rickman and Tim Roth, steals the show with his deliciously evil portrayal of Col. Tavington. What separates this epic apart from the other summer movies is Rodat's wonderful ability to evoke several different emotions. Rodat wonderfully establishes many bonds and then breaks them abruptly with the death and destruction of war. Truly there is more suffering in this movie than I have seen in almost any, and it makes the payoff at the end (you were aware that we actually win the war right?) that much better. Emmerich also is able to capture the essence of combat tactics of the day. Be it the minute-man behind the bushes style, or the open field style Emmerich milks every dramatic possibility from these old style battle tactics. All this combines to make a wonderful movie that should not be forgotten come Oscar time (especially Isaacs).

Movie Steve 26 July 2000

The Patriot is NOT a documentary. It didn't pretend to be, and wasn't. Loosely based upon Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox"), it only touched on Marion's impact on the Revolution in South Carolina. If anything, it was downplayed. For instance, in real life, he had over 150 men in his guerrilla band. The movie portrayed him as having far fewer. As a documentary, it fails on this and many other points. As a movie, it is a tremendous success.

As far as visuals, they were stunning. The wide-open vistas and battle scenes were breath-taking and beautifully filmed. Yes, it was violent, but that lent a realism to the film that most other films about this era lack. The look and feel of this period was portrayed well.

The acting was superb. I won't give anything away, but this did NOT (arguably) have either an entirely "Hollywood" plot – people, including civilians, DIE, as they do in war – or much of a "Hollywood" ending, despite a relatively happy one. That was impressive, and made the film genuine, exciting and at times, shocking. Plot points such as Benjamin Martin's youngest daughter's feelings about her daddy, and the romance between his son and a young girl were touching, and even emotional.

I found some things complain about. Crisp, clean, brand-new Colonial American flags suddenly appear after, and during, the final battle. In reality they would have been rags by then – or at least not so clean. One bad bit of dialogue: Benjamin Martin is on the beach with his sister-in- law, and he asks if he can sit down. Her reply, "It's a free country – or will be soon," was a 20th century throw-away line dressed up with a 1780 caveat, and I cringed at it.

The film was historically accurate in many respects. The formal way of speaking, plus the family-above-all, loyalty-to-The-Cause attitudes expressed throughout, were genuine, even though both are out of favor today. Children using weapons, and going off to fight on a moment's notice, was not an uncommon story, and supposedly happened in a branch of my own family. Relationships like Martin's and his wife's sister did occur, often out of necessity. I was surprised to read afterwards that the battle tactics of the last scene occurred, almost exactly as shown, at the Battle of Cowpens, including fierce hand-to-hand combat. Colonel Banastre Tarleton – the basis for the movie's character William Tavington – was indeed seen as a war criminal by American colonists at the time, and the real Tarleton even had a horse shot out from under him!

But was it biased? Sure it was. Roughly a third of the American colonists were Loyalists, another third were "rebels", and another third were undecided. It would have made the story more complete and complex to portray this (or the time Tarleton mistakenly slaughtered some of those very Loyalists!) But I've read a poem online ("Ode to Valour") dedicated to Col. Banastre Tarleton's "heroic exploits" that would shame modern-day propagandists.

I think we all accept that not every British officer of this era was a monster. In fact, in the movie – as in real life - Cornwallis and other British officers were appalled that the "Ghost"/Swamp Fox did not play by the rules of "civilized warfare", and chastised characters like Tavington who also breached them. The real Swamp Fox knew a bit about balance, however. After after the war, when the real Francis Marion served in the

A2Z 4 July 2000

Brig. Gen. Francis Marion, the historical person that Mel Gibson's character is loosely based on was a true war hero and patriot. The ones who are denigrating his legacy are mostly British `historians' and those who are too stupid or lazy to do their own research.

Actually, Mel Gibson's Benjamin Martin is a composite of 3 historical characters: one of course was Francis Marion the `Swamp Fox'; another was an illiterate backwoods general, Daniel Morgan, who encouraged the militia at the battle of Cowpens (final battle enacted in the movie) to stand their ground against the British; and the third was a cavalry officer, William Washington, who pursued Tarleton after Cowpens and fought him in hand-to-hand combat, which they both barely survived.

Gen. Marion used tactics that the Brits termed `ungentlemanly' for warfare, but he got the job done, just as the Viet Cong did 200 years later against our own GI's. Marion knew, because of his lack of manpower, equipment, and experienced soldiers, he couldn't take on the superior British forces using outmoded and quaint European-style warfare (in fact, this idiotic style of warfare continued up until WWI). The movie depicts this very well. So Gen. Marion wisely used the only tactics left to him – hit-and-run, which he learned from fighting the Cherokees during the French and Indian Wars.

The movie's villainous Lt. Col. Tavington, who is also loosely based on Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, is not too far from the truth, though a little over the top.

It was during the retreat of Waxhaws that Tarleton came to symbolize British cruelty in the Revolutionary War. Tarleton was seen as a "butcher" when American forces under Col. Abraham Buford laid down their arms in an attempt to surrender yet the British continued their assault. From then on, his reputation grew and `Tarleton's quarter', in effect, came to mean "no quarter".

In the tradition of the day, after the surrender at Yorktown, American officers hosted the defeated Cornwallis and other British officers at their respective tables. But no American invited Tarleton nor would any eat with him. Tarleton asked if the omission was accidental, and he was told that, indeed it was not, because of his past atrocities.

Tarleton lived a long life, condoning his use of total war – burning houses, destroying crops, the end justifying the means. He also would never admit to any fault at Cowpens, saying he was `outnumbered' and received inadequate assistance from Cornwallis. He wondered, "how some unforeseen event" could "throw terror into the most disciplined soldiers".

I didn't go into this movie for a history lesson but to be entertained, and I was, but after reading some of the inaccurate and illiterate reviews, I found it necessary to give a `history lesson'! The movie wasn't perfect – it was cloying and obvious at times, but I give it high marks for effort and for bringing to the screen an important part of American history that has received disparate treatment in movies, and I think Devlin & Emmerich can now be forgiven for Godzilla.

Similar Movies

5.9
Samrat Prithviraj

Samrat Prithviraj 2022

8.5
Pawankhind

Pawankhind 2022

5.1
Son of India

Son of India 2022

6.2
Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea

Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea 2021

8.3
The Lady of Heaven

The Lady of Heaven 2021

4.8
Bhuj: The Pride of India

Bhuj: The Pride of India 2021

7.0
Greyhound

Greyhound 2020

6.8
The Outpost

The Outpost 2020


Share Post

Direct Link

Markdown Link (reddit comments)

HTML (website / blogs)

BBCode (message boards & forums)

Watch Movies Online | Privacy Policy
Fmovies.guru provides links to other sites on the internet and doesn't host any files itself.