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"The Patriot" Can Mel save the summer?

I hate to say it, but this is the first disappointment of the Summer. The makers of the movie, who we all know made "INDEPENDENCE DAY" and "GODZILLA" have taken what could have been a great film and made it a hamburger with EXTRA CHEESE. is movie deserves them all.

The movie has parts that resemble "BRAVEHEART" and "LAST OF THE MOHICANS" but it lacks the seriousness of those films. It also has shades of "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" but loses the power that it and those other films had. You want so bad to like it because of Mel Gibson and a fine performance by Heath Ledger who plays his son, but it gets bogged down in corniness.

It is very brutal and bloody at parts and has a few surprises along the way but in the end it doesn't all add up. The score by Oscar winner John Williams reminded me at certain points of Jar Jar Binks dancing around. The script of course has the speeches that are supposed to get you all excited but the delivery of the lines, the direction of the scenes and the music don't work together very well. I am sure "THE PATRIOT" will make loads of money and it is worth seeing as long as you don't mind waiting through all of the cheese to get to the meat.