June 29, 2000 -- "The Patriot" is like The Revolutionary War meets "Braveheart." There are so many parallels between the story lines of the two movies it is easier to say it is essentially the same story.

We have the same reluctant warrior who is goaded into battle by the death of a family member and he fights with great ferocity. The goal is the same in both films, to be free. In both cases the warrior enlists stalwart allies with comic sidekick representatives. In "Braveheart," it was the Irish, in "The Patriot," it is the French. In both the movies the warrior is cunning, using unusual tactics to defeat the enemy. Fortunately, there is no anti-gay component to "The Patriot" so let's hope nobody drags out the dreaded "Braveheart -- Bravefart" essay again. There is an anti-British component, and the British have already complained (they complained about "Braveheart" and "Saving Private Ryan," too). More about that later.

Since King George V is not as great a villain as that King Edward I (Longshanks) was, so another villain from the lower ranks who is equally mean and nasty is inserted into the story, Col. William Tavington (viciously played by Jason Isaacs of "Armageddon"), kills innocent men, women and children at an alarming rate. In short, he treats the colonists as if they were slaves or American Indians. Very nasty, indeed. This gets our hero, Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson of "Braveheart") so riled up he decides to fight.

Martin is reluctant to fight because he, himself committed atrocities in an earlier war. He feels "My sins will come back to haunt me," and they do. He tells himself he was young and foolish and drunk, but he doesn't really believe these excuses. His oldest son, Gabriel (played by Heath Ledger of 10 Things I Hate About You"), is young and foolish enough to think there is glory in war. He enjoys the fight and recruits new soldiers.

Among those recruited is a minister, Reverend Oliver (Rene Auberjonois of "Inspector Gadget" and "Star Trek: Deep Space 9"). He has his own perspective on the ethics of warfare, like killing prisoners, for instance, that is at odds with his fellow soldiers, including that French fellow I alluded to earlier, Maj. Jean Villeneuve (played by Tchéky Karyo, who looks like a small version of Geráurd Depardieu). Villeneuve, like Martin, has a personal score to settle with the British. Martin, however, sides with Rev. Oliver and decides not to kill the prisoners.

This is one of several instances that seem to indicate that Martin has at least begun to purge himself of the rage he feels against the British. Slowly, the war, for Martin, stops being about personal vengeance and it starts being something else, a patriotic war for an emerging country and for his own freedom. This gives the story a little more depth than one would expect. This is more clearly demonstrated in another character, a black man, who hopes to win his freedom by fighting for the Americans. If he fights one year in the war, he is a free man. At one point, a fellow soldier, a white, turns to him and says "I'm proud to serve with you," then says it again in case we missed the point. He says that after the black man reveals he has already served his year and he's fighting now of his own accord.

That's going a bit too far, especially in country where slavery was legal and would continue to be legal until the slaves were emancipated by Abraham Lincoln over 80 years after the time this movie is set and we still have whites killing blacks over the race issue in the present day. The story takes place in 1780 and 1781 and highlights battles between British troops under Charles Cornwallis (played by Tom Wilkinson) and troops under the command of Major General Nathanael Greene. Col. Harry Burwell (Chris Cooper of "American Beauty") recruits militia and coordinates their attacks in the story. Cornwallis is portrayed favorably in the movie and in history, so it seems very inconsistent for him to knowingly allow a renegade like Col. Tavington to operate freely in his army.

The film reportedly merges two battles for the sake of drama, the battle of Cowpens in January, 1781 and the battle of Guilford Courthouse, two months later. According to a June 4 story in the London Times called "Lies, Damned Lies and Hollywood." The story says the British won both battles, but the Encarta 96 Encyclopedia says the British lost both battles, as depicted in the movie. The story also says Banastre Tarleton, the soldier upon whom the character Tavington is reportedly based, was not the evil villain he was depicted to be in the movie. I only mention this for the sake of real history buffs who may be offended by the film playing fast and loose with the facts from time to time. This is not like "Gettysburg." It is more entertaining than that. This is no history lesson, although Martin and Tarleton are actual historical figures.

"The Patriot" is a big, sprawling drama, with a lot of action and gore thrown in. There is a scene where a man's head is torn off by a cannon ball, and another scene where the same weapon tears the legs off of some soldiers. There's blood everywhere. There is also a little comedy and some romance, including one scene where a visiting suitor is sewn up in a bag so there is no hanky-panky while he spends the night at the home of the young woman and her family. It also features flag-waving patriotism, and when I say flag-waving, I mean that literally. It is patriotism served up as only an Australian actor and a German director (Roland Emmerich) can give it to you.

The acting is good with Gibson giving a terrific performance in the lead. One heartbreaking scene between Martin and his young daughter is enough to bring a tear to anyone's eye. Heath Ledger is also good as Martin's patriotic son, Gabriel. Newcomer Lisa Brenner is very good in the role of Anne Howard, Gabriel's love interest. The movie is well photographed and the battle scenes are elaborate and sweeping. The battles are well staged, some in wide open country where you can see the size of the large armies. It is also well-written by Robert Rodat ("Saving Private Ryan"). The film reminded me of an earlier film by the same director, "Independence Day." This film rates a B as did "Independence Day."

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