"Braveheart in America" - that’s what everyone is calling this movie. I beg to differ. Whereas Scotland was taken over by Britain and oppressed, we here in America were simply "owned" by the British (in the broadest of terms). The Revolutionary War was about independence, but not from oppression. But enough of a history lesson. Let’s talk about this movie.

Considering that his past directorial efforts were shoot-em-up and action type movies like Godzilla, Independence Day and Universal Soldier, director Roland Emmerich does an outstanding job in capturing the, for lack of a better word, patriotism of the time and rolling that emotion over to the audience. The cast includes the always amazing Mel Gibson as Benjamin Martin, newcomer Heath Ledger (hired for his Aussie roots?) as Martin’s oldest son Gabriel, and Chris Cooper (remember the homophobic ex-Marine in American Beauty?) as Martin’s old war buddy, Col. Harry Burwell, among others.

Benjamin is a celebrated hero from the French and Indian War. His oldest of seven children is now age 18 and ready to fight for "the cause", namely independence. But Benjamin’s politics and beliefs are not nearly so strong as they were before he had a family counting on him. The last thing that this man wants is to see his son go to war. Gabriel, however, has different ideas and decides to enlist. When a "red coat" officer murders one of his children, Benjamin has no choice but to leave the children with an aunt and go off to join his eldest in the fight against the British.

It still amazes me the archaic way in which our and other countries’ soldiers fought in the years leading up to our independence. Walk within a few feet of one another and take turns shooting. But, regardless of that, this movie was well worth the money used to see it. The panoramic views beg that you see The Patriot while it’s in the theaters. And if you think you will be treating yourself to a repeat of Mel Gibson’s wonderfully mesmerizing Braveheart, think again. The two can not be compared. I also warn against pitting this movie against Gladiator in trying to determine which you like better, simply because they are both out at the same time. Again, stylistically and historically two totally different movies. Which is better? I don’t know and I don’t care. I’m happy to have seen them both.

Rating:  * * * * 1/2