The Patriot

Released 2000
Stars Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, Adam Baldwin, Rene Auberjonois, Donal Logue, Tcheky Karyo, Tom Wilkinson
Directed by Roland Emmerich

A former hero of the French and Indian War, widowed with seven children, refuses to fight in the Continental Army in 1776; he's seen the horror of war first-hand, and wants to protect his family. But after his eldest son enlists, fate and circumstance force him into the fray. Gibson gives a charismatic performance in this entertaining, old-fashioned period saga, exquisitely filmed in South Carolina. But Robert Rodat's script and Emmerich's direction are too often heavy-handed, especially in their cartoonish treatment of "bad guy" Isaacs.

Summary by Leonard Maltin