The Patriot

Bloody, long, and melodramatic Revolutionary War revenge pic with a strong lead by Gibson and a notably hissable villain in Isaacs. Benjamin Martin (Gibson) is a former guerilla soldier in the French and Indian wars who just wants to raise his family in peace. Unfortunately, local redcoat leader, Col. Tavington (Isaacs), has other ideas and when Martin's idealistic soldier son Gabriel (Ledger) is captured, dad gets caught up in the action. Producing partners Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin did "Independence Day" and "Godzilla," so spectacle is their middle name. Film gave the British critics apoplexy with its inaccuracies. But who won, anyway?