Hi, Dave! The movie stroke me as propaganda through and through but I greatly enjoyed what Gibson's character retorts at some time; I fear one tyrant 10,000 miles away much less than 100 of them at home (or something to that effect) --- with respect to whether the colonies should stay within UK or declare independence. 
Hi
Andrei - beginning of the Wiki article quoted below w/ an emphasis on 'historical fiction'! Over the decades living in the Carolinas and visiting many of the areas where these events took place (and having read numerous books on the subject and the characters, a recent one on Francis Marion, the 'Swamp Fox') - the battles of Camden (at the beginning) and Cowpens (at the end) are all wrong although wonderfully filmed - I've been to Camden, SC - the battle took place outside of town, i.e. no houses; also have visited Cowpens, again not the way shown.
The British colonel, William Tavington is a fictional representation of
Banastre Tarleton, who indeed was known as 'The Butcher' - whether he did all that was shown in the film is doubtful. General Daniel Morgan virtually destroyed his army at the Battle of Cowpens, leading Cornwallis to retreat to Wilmington, NC to lick his wounds before entering Virginia, and ending up at Yorktown - and we know how that ended.
The southern campaign was more a civil war between the colonists and much of the 'butchery' took place not w/ the British soldiers but between the 'Tories' and 'Patriots', so I guess that would qualify in part as propaganda - Roger Ebert's review
HERE, if interested. BUT for me, the attraction of the movie is the filming in an area well known to me in our many travels here. How would I rate the movie? Probably 3* to 4* depending on whether ranking the distortion of history or the atmospheric scenery more important? Dave
The Patriot is a 2000 American historical fiction war film directed by Roland Emmerich, written by Robert Rodat, and starring Mel Gibson, Chris Cooper, Heath Ledger, and Jason Isaacs. The film mainly takes place in rural Berkeley County, South Carolina, and depicts the story of an American Colonist, nominally loyal to the British Crown, who is swept into the American Revolutionary War when his family is affected. Benjamin Martin is a composite figure who Rodat has stated is based on four factual figures from the American Revolutionary War: Andrew Pickens, Francis Marion, Daniel Morgan, and Thomas Sumter.
The film takes place during the events of the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. It attracted controversy over its fictional portrayal of historical British figures and atrocities, especially with the infamous burning church scene, of which there is no historical record. Critic Roger Ebert wrote: "None of it has much to do with the historical reality of the Revolutionary War". (Source)
