Word: emmerichs
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Science, as we all know, is supposed to be objective, but global warming is one of those scientific issues that have been hopelessly mired in politics for years, and the movie's director, Roland Emmerich, can't resist some playful partisan point scoring. He pairs a weak-willed but telegenic President with a Mephistophelian, scientifically ignorant Veep, played by an obvious Dick Cheney look-alike. After the storm hits, tens of thousands of American refugees flee south--whereupon Mexico promptly closes its borders, leaving the hapless, desperate gringos to wade in droves across the Rio Grande...
Eight Legged Freaks (July 19): In this Dean Devlin/Roland Emmerich-produced camp-fest, spiders begin feeding from a toxic waste-infused lake, and as does happen now and then the spiders grow to about six feet in diameter. Ridiculous situations ensue...
...unlike the much more remote Gladiator, an honest-to-goodness heart. Okay, so Gibson was a Southern planter who didn't own slaves and the British were so villainous that they burned people in churches-who goes to the movies for their history lesson anyway? Director Roland Emmerich will never be much more than flashy blockbuster peddler, but he certainly knows how to handle a project with daunting logistics and he makes the most of some lavish production values. The Patriot has too many flaws to be called a great piece of filmmaking...
...this psychopathy that begets Martin's patriotism. With two of his other boys, he rescues Gabriel from the hanging party in what is surely director Roland Emmerich's most dashing set piece. This action establishes Martin, whose character is surely based in part on Francis Marion, the not-as-nice "swamp fox" of the Revolution, as a great, almost ghostly guerrilla leader. Also, it personalizes the war for him. At some point, we know, he must confront the hateful Tavington mano a mano...
Before that can happen, a lot of war will have to be fought. Fought seriously. Fought painfully. And it is here that The Patriot often transcends the cliches of the epic form, not to mention director Emmerich's previous work (the mysteriously successful Independence Day and the seriously miscalculated Godzilla). This is possibly because the script is by Robert Rodat, who wrote the unblinking Saving Private Ryan. He and Emmerich stress two things. The first is the brutal reprisals the British take against the families of the men fighting with Martin. You cannot help comparing what happens in this movie...