The movie is heavy on emotion and personal battles. Mel Gibson turns in a good role as a widowed father who doesn't want to go to war. "I'm a parent. I don't have the luxury of principles," he says. He's afraid, and tired of fighting. He's been through the French and Indian Wars. He's seen enough violence. His opening line is, "I have long feared my sins would come back to haunt me..."

But that quickly changes as the British (or redcoats, whatever you prefer) mercilessly make a move against his family. Soon, Gibson finds reason to fight.

If you're looking for anything historically accurate, you're in the wrong place. If you're looking for a "true story" this is not your movie. If you're looking for a good movie, with a good story, emotion, and excellent battle scenes---YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

My only complaint, if you can call it that, is the battles scenes are not quite as well shot as "Saving Private Ryan." I've read some reviews saying the battles are just as gritty and terrifying as Private Ryan, but that didn't seem to be the case to me. More blood and violence was implied than actually shown, so that may be way critics get that impression. I think that may be the result of better direction by Steven Spielberg (whom I rarely like), but that's just what I suspect. However, there are violent and heart-wrenching scenes. The climax of the movie is amazing, and in a slight way, unpredictable. That's squeezing a lot out of a big budget movie, if you hear what I'm saying?

This is a guy's movie... most of the theater was guys. But I did hear a few suspicious sniffles at points... it leads me to believe girls were there and liked it... hmmm... I can see why. This movie does have an emotional, family (although it is not a family movie) appeal, with things dealing with father/son, father/daughter (a tear jerker scene), and wife/husband.

"The Patriot" is less about facts than about the principles this country was founded on. Those principles may seem lost in this modern society, and I think in the way, they are. I heard on the news the other day about man getting fined for the clanking his American flag made ("disturbing the peace"). And I see the liberals and the media wanting to take our guns away. Neither of these things are supported by this movie. Maybe that's why I liked it. And I say all this in the comfort of the freedom with which the patriots fought to give us. An overall good movie which I plan to own one day.

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