Happy 4th of July!

It’s that time of the year again! Beaches overcrowded, pools filled, lines at Disney beyond comprehension. Barbecues fired up, beers chilled and music pumping. Flags are waving, fireworks exploding and people across the country are digging through their closets for something red, white and/or blue.

So it’s only fitting to review a patriotic movie. And which have I chosen? The 2000 action adventure film The Patriot, starring the late Heath Ledger and Mel Gibson before his career crashed and burned!

The Patriot tells the story of Benjamin Martin, a South Carolina plantation owner. He is a widower raising seven children: Gabriel (Heath Ledger) who is itching to fight in the Continental Army; Thomas (Gregory Smith) who is there to be a catalyst; William (Logan Lerman), Samuel (Bryan Chafin) Nathan (Trevor Morgan) Margaret (Mika Boorem) who are just there to…be there; and Susan (Skye McCole Bartusiak) who doesn’t speak. He just wants to be left alone and initially starts out as representing the 1/3 of Americans who didn’t really care who won.

However, Gabriel really, really wants to fight. So on a visit to Charleston to visit Aunt Charlotte (Joely Richardson), he enlists. He then brings the war to his family. Gabriel returns home one day as his father tends to the injured of both sides. Gabriel is pursued by Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs) of the infamous Green Dragoons. He orders every Patriot soldier killed and then takes Gabriel prisoner. Thomas tries to save his brother and ends up getting shot in the process. He dies and Ben suddenly goes Rambo on Tavington. He even gets the other non-dead or non-captured son in on it as well.

Despite now having to care for five scared, traumatized and homeless children, Ben decides to go fight. He leaves his children with their aunt and gathers together a ragtag group of soldiers. This includes their official leader (Chris Cooper as Col. Burwell), the pastor (Rene Auberjonois as Rev. Oliver), the racist-who-will-learn-his-lesson (Donal Logue as Dan Scott), the token minority (Jay Arlen Jones as Occam) and the Lafayette espy (Tcheky Karyo as Jean Villenue). They then fight the British, especially Tavington over the course of the Revolution.

Of course, there are two romantic subplots. The main one involves Gabriel reconnecting with a childhood friend, Anne (Lisa Brenner). They soon fall in love and end up married. This subplot ends in tragedy, though, in a scene I still cannot watch to this day. The second romantic subplot involves Ben and Aunt Charlotte, who is his wife’s sister. This one has a happier ending, if not the angstier road as the two initially deny their attraction to one another.

As I did not put up the spoiler warning, I do not want to give everything away. Just be warn there are many action sequences, yet disturbing scenes. Viewer discretion is certainly advised and the squeamish are instructed to have whatever you use to cover your eyes—hands, blanket, loved one—handy.

According to what I’ve read, Ben Martin was inspired by a real Revolutionary War fighter—Francis “Swamp Fox” Marion, just severely cleaned up. Tavington is based on Banastre Tarleton, who was a British officer who terrorized the south during the Carolina campaign. From what I’ve heard and read about the man, Tavington is a composite of the tales told about Tarleton—not necessarily the truth.

Harrison Ford was originally offered the role of Ben Martin. He turned it down, claiming the movie reduced our fight for freedom to a fight about one man’s revenge. And that’s pretty accurate. The difficulty with the Revolution is indeed how to convey it. There are two main ways to do this. The first is to make it about the Founding Fathers, like “1776” and “The Crossing.” The other way is to focus on the average American and how the war affected them. This? Doesn’t really do it. It’s more like Rambo set in the 18th century.

So, if you want an action movie, watch this. Or if you want to watch a Heath Ledger movie where he isn’t a gay cowboy or covered in makeup. But if you want a patriotic movie, bark up another tree.

I would like to wish my faithful readers…whoever you may be…a Happy 4th of July! As you read this, I’m probably in my pool while my dad fires up the barbecue.

Or watching “1776” rather than this.