Grade: C+

Verdict: Involving epic of a reluctant Revolutionary War hero sucked into combat by personal losses. Mark off points for lack of subtlety and lax editing.

Details: Starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger and Jason Isaacs. Rated R for strong war violence. 2 hours, 44 minutes.

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Review: The world is divided into those who were intrigued by the study of history and those who were bored silly by it. Chances are the latter group might have joined the former had it encountered a Revolutionary War lesson as heart-thumpingly involving as "The Patriot."

Students of the movies will get a lesson in not typecasting directors when they see that this epic, yet human-scale picture comes from Roland Emmerich, the maker of such extraterrestrial twaddle as Independence Day and that reptilian nonsense Godzilla.

"The Patriot" may be a bit too bombastic for its own good, is probably more violent than necessary and is certainly a half-hour longer than it should be. But in its tug of war between commitment to family and allegiance to country, it spins an emotionally gripping yarn that is a lot more interesting than the history we were taught in old Mrs. Feeney's class.

If, as is likely, "The Patriot" opens at the top of box-office charts this July 4th weekend, that can be attributed to its star, Mel Gibson, who almost single-handedly wins our freedom from the British. He plays South Carolinian Benjamin Martin, a fictional version of "Swamp Fox" guerrilla warrior Francis Marion. Although Martin was a hero of the French and Indian War, he is adamantly opposed to fighting the Brits, largely because by 1776 he is a widower with seven children to support and a plantation to farm.

Like every summer movie with an initially reticent leading character, it is just a matter of time before Martin jumps into the fray. Here, it is prompted by a brutal incident in which Redcoat Col. William Tavington (Jason Isaacs), an unmitigated meanie, rides up to Martin's estate, sees him giving medical aid to colonial soldiers and blithely orders his home burned down and his oldest son Gabriel (new heartthrob Heath Ledger) hanged as a spy.

Yes, now it is personal, and Martin exacts revenge in a bloody forest ambush of Tavington and his troops, where Martin demonstrates how a Cherokee tomahawk can be a lethal weapon. Tavington gets away, but you can bet your popcorn that the two of them will fight to the death before the end of the war.

Martin trains a ragtag militia army in the art of sneak attack, in contrast to the regular troops who advance in neat, gentlemanly rows and keep getting mowed down. Do not be surprised if the graphic depiction of combat reminds you of Saving Private Ryan, for "The Patriot" is the handiwork of its Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Robert Rodat.

He invents some wily moves, like Martin's slyly negotiated trade of captured militiamen for a distant group of British officers. And just when you think that Tavington cannot do anything more dastardly, he rounds up the residents of Martin's village, locks them in their church and threatens to torch it.

Gibson knows his acting range, and "The Patriot" offers him a comfortably familiar role not far removed from his assignment in Braveheart. He gets a few scenery-chewing emotional moments and a couple of speeches on the importance of this spanking new nation, but otherwise Martin lets his actions speak for him. Isaacs should get a career boost for his snarling, sneering villain, but the part's success was assured when Rodat gave him such nasty deeds.

Chris Cooper (American Beauty) is a sturdy asset as Martin's old war buddy, Col. Harry Burwell, who reluctantly takes command of the militia. And since even a war movie needs a female presence, Joely Richardson pops up every now and then as Martin's sister-in-law, whose function is to stare admiringly at him.

War may be hell, but in The Patriot, it looks terrific, thanks to the exquisite photography of Caleb Deschanel. If there were ever a battle not fought in high-visibility sunlight, Deschanel never heard of it. Perhaps he already went deaf from too much exposure to John Williams' turgid music score. In the unlikely event that you become unsure how to react, Williams always clues you in.

Such excesses have become the norm in filmmaking today, alas. Still, subtlety or ambiguity aside, "The Patriot" is a rip-snorting good flick that breaks the cinematic jinx against Revolutionary War stories. (Go ahead, rent Al Pacino's Revolution, I dare you.)

— Hap Erstein, Cox News Service