Well, ol' Father Geek just got in from a preview screening of THE PATRIOT here in Austin. Let me say right off the bat that I've been waiting for this film for several years now. You see I read the First draft of the script a long time back. I picked it out of a stack here at Geek Headquarters without knowing a thing about it and started to read, after about 50 pages I sat it down and walked into Harry's room.

"How do you like it?" He asked.

"Please tell me this isn't just a wet dream script." I responded, "This IS going to be made? I don't want to go any further if it isn't. I love this period of history and this story is kicking ass so far." Harry (who hadn't read it himself at that time) assured me it was greenlighted. I returned to my reading and didn't put it down again until I finished about 2 hours later. The movie that night played fantastic on the screen that nestles behind my forehead. I babbled on for days about the NEED to have movies of epic grandeur again, and about the way this film could paint an picture of the true horror of war and what it does to people who have experienced it up close and personal.

Time passed and other films and scripts occupied my time and thoughts. Then one day Harry tossed me a revised draft of THE PATRIOT. Check this out he suggested, mentioning as an after though that it was going forward with Mel Gibson, and with the team that had brought us GODZILLA at the helm. I shuttered. My perfect American Revolution War Movie was in the hands of the people I felt had ruined the big lizard flick. However, I was curious, so I began to read. A little had been added and some had been trimmed, but its spirit was all still there and more important the terror of war conducted among your friends and family, in your very backyard had been left intact. This version of the motion picture played even better at the theater of my mind's eye. I was more reserved in my conversations about it this time, I was unsure of the film maker's ability to come thru with my vision of the film.

A few months went by and we received yet another draft of the screenplay. I immediately sat down and read it, fearful that the heart would be cut out and replaced with some tepid substitute. My fears were unwarranted. The movie's soul was untouched, all that was missing was some fat. My hopes began to climb. More scripts and movies filled my days and nights, then one of those scripts printed on colored (copy proof) paper arrived in the PO Box, it was Rodat's final shooting draft. I went white, nothing could be done now if it was screwed up. It sat in the house for a couple of days, on the end of my couch, just staring back at me, mocking my anxiety. Finally I worked up the nerve and began to read once more. The many rewrites were listed on the cover; white, blue, pink, yellow, green, etc... a carnival of colors. Would my favorite scenes make the cut, would the scenes that HAD to be there remain? A couple of hours later I had my answer. Rodat had done his job very well, and the Director and Producer and Star had let him. My film was intact, now was their vision mine? I'd have to wait and see.

Several weeks ago Harry saw THE PATRIOT out in California and I was very jealous. He came back very happy with it, but we discussed no details, I didn't read his review. I just waited and waited. I caught the trailers and some clips, not too much just enough to see the scale, the color of the film. Then tonight with Lobo, Quint, Mouth, Robogeek, and Sister Satan I sat back to experience as best we can today the American Revolution as it was fought in the South. I'm a real history buff. I will always get geeker about a well done historical epic than any mere flight of fancy. BEN HUR, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, EL CID, THIN RED LINE, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, GLADIATOR, BRAVEHEART, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, THE ALAMO, GLORY, these are motion pictures that I love to see again and again, and now I can add to that list... THE PATRIOT. Oh, I know they have historical flaws, some of them a great many, but the sweeping scope of the drama, the grand Art Direction, the music, the action, the effects, these epics provide the cinema artist the largest of canvases, the richest paints, the deepest depth of field, and they just might have actually happened, they could be real.

THE PATRIOT is a real winner. Roland and Dean have created their best, most complete film by far. Gibson's title character displays a broad range of acting skills and emotions. The film is very beautifully shot, the effects are seamless and John William's music does exactly what it's suppose to. The film tugs at your heart strings, but not too much. The action and violence of war; brutal, personal, up close war is there. You witness it as it changes people right before you eyes. I saw friends return from Vietnam that way; different, strange, and not really the better for the experience. Yeah, this film is more violent than BRAVEHEART, GLADIATOR, or GLORY. The nature of this type of combat requires that. It can tear at you, upset you, make you flinch at what happens on the screen, but then it should. War IS hell!