Anyone else noticed that Mel's character really wasn't a Patriot? He only joined the war after his family was attacked. If that had never happened, we can assume he would have sat the whole thing out. Or if a crazy American officer had slaughtered his sons, we can assume he'd run off the join the Redcoats.
I just hated how the film takes such a complex political conflict and turns it into a personal struggle of good vs evil.
In the Carolina, especially in South Carolina, the Revolutionary War became a civil war between local colonial militia fighting on the two warring sides. It became very personal and the title can be interpreted as ironic.
The personal agendas among the militia members is the most accurate bit of the movie.
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.
This was just a typical movie revenge plot though. It could have been a lot better.
shareYes, it was a typical 'revenge plot' movie. Revenge is a basic movie plot and I think it is one of the easiest to direct. I did enjoy it and I liked the historical connections, as shaky as they were. There was some reality in the connections to the Battle of Camden, Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton (Tavington), and the Battle of Cowpens/Guilford Courthouse, even with the historical distortions.
I was disappointed with a missed opportunity to display the Revolutionary War, at least a piece of it, with some detail and accuracy. A movie focused an accurate telling of the story of Francis Marion, Andrew Pickens, or Thomas Sumter that shared one of their life experiences, warts and all may have been much better. The problem with doing that as a dramatic movie is that it is extremely unlikely that it would be entertaining. Movies are an art, but they are a business first. Frank Capra said in an interview that he never let it leave his mind that his first goal was to entertain the audience. No one has ever done for the Revolutionary War what we have done for the American Civil War. Maybe they never will.
The best diplomat I know is a fully charged phaser bank.
I was pretty disappointed in the film. It was just a mindless action movie that happened to be in the Revolutionary war. The war really was just an excuse for Mel to kill guys. You could have set the movie in present day and you wouldn't have to change a whole lot.
I also didn't like what they did with the historical aspects. They took real complex people and events and turned them into one-sided caricatures. The real Tarleton had a reputation for brutality, but he wasn't a child-killing, church burning, town cleanser. The real battle of Cowpens was won through a combination of many factors (like all battles), not one guy stopping a rout by running to the top of some stairs and waving a flag.
It was especially depressing for me as a history buff, since there are so few movies made about the Revolutionary War, I hated how they didn't use the opportunity to show what it was really like. Also it was a massive waste of a great cast and a high budget. I loved the costumes and set designs. They really brought the era to life with those things, but then didn't do anything with the setting that was provided.
For me, the death knell of the film was the scene where Mel and his pre-teen sons kill like 20 guys by themselves. From that point on I pretty much gave up any hope that this was going to be a real epic war movie instead of an 18th century lethal weapon.
Yeah, taking out 20 soldiers with a few flintlocks and a tomahawk was a bit hard to believe. Six guys would be realistic in a surprise attack, maybe 8-10 if Gabriel hadn't gotten free and helped out: young kids get one guy each with their first shot, Gibson gets two (first shot with his first rifle and second one with his second rifle when the boys' shooting distracts them, then rushes in with pistol and tomahawk.). But no way 20 guys stand there and get killed.
shareThe true patriot was his son, who signed up to join the Continental Army.
But I think you missed the main point. Gibson's character believed the colonies should be independent, but he had been through the horrors of war and knew better than to rush headlong into them again. Once the war was started he would have still avoided it to protect his family. But a crazy British officer provoked him and woke the sleeping lion.