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The film is about a man named Benjamin Martin a veteran of the French and Indian War who is initially relucant to fight against Great Britain during the American Revolution but is eventually forced to do so in order to protect his family. This film is a good one to watch but if you are looking for historical accuracy you won't find it in this film.

Now while I am able to be entertained by watching this film as a history buff I cannot say I am to pleased with the amounts of historical inaccuracies in this film that often trivializes the war.

Some of the inaccuracies are as follows:

1.There was no Fort Wilderness that Mel Gibsons character speaks of.
2. The way in which the Continental Soldiers and their British counterparts fight is completely insane. Battles back then weren't stagnate engagements in which two armies shot each other to pieces until one side yielded the field. They were actually constantly moving trying to find the weaknesses in their opponents lines and using the terrain to their advantage.
3. Apparently there were reenactors who were in the film but became so disgusted with the directors ignorance of history and his refusal to listen to their advice by the last battle in the film there were no reenactors present.
4. Too many casualities inflicted on either side during the battle scenes. Most of the firearms back then were highly inaccurate and you had a higher chance of the bullet passing over your opponents head and stricking a tree than killing someone. Most Revolutionary War Battles had very large amounts of wounded men than those killed for instance:

The Battle of Bunker Hill (1775)

British Losses

226 killed
828 Wounded

American Losses

115 Killed
305 Wounded
30 Captured

Battle of Trenton (1776)

Hessian Losses

22 Killed
83 Wounded
896 Captured

American Losses

2 killed
5 wounded

Battle of Hubbardton (1777)

British losses

60 killed
168 wounded

American Losses

41 Killed
96 Wounded
230 Captured

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

British losses

440 Killed
695 Wounded
6,222 Captured

American Losses

90 Killed
240 Wounded

There were some instances in which casualities were very high like at the Battle of Oriskany in which 385 Americans were killed or the Wyoming Massacre in which 340 were killed. But in most battles the amount of those killed was very small.

So what do you think of this movie and did you like it?

I remember watching this in history class my sophomore year of high school. I enjoyed it but yea, there were quite a few things about it that weren't historically accurate but hey, that's Hollywood for ya. I did enjoy seeing Mel Gibson in it though because he's awesome! I was surprised to see an Adam Baldwin appearance in the movie as well (he was Animal Mother in "Full Metal Jacket").

Well it maybe a Hollywood film but you either make the effort to get things historically accurate or don't even bother making the film