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'''Colonel Tavington''': "Why wait?" }}
A 2000 war epic starring [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Heath Ledger]], set during [[The American Revolution]]
This is where Colonel Tavington comes in. The commander of the elite Green Dragoon forces, Tavington orders the deaths of the rebel wounded, has the Martins' house burned down, and takes Gabriel in as a spy to be hanged. Thomas, his next oldest son, tries to intervene, and gets a bullet in the back for his trouble. This sparks Benjamin Martin's decision to join the Revolution to fight the Redcoats (and to ambush and slaughter the British detachment).
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Nominated for three Academy Awards, the film is known for its gruesome battles and the hit-and-run tactics employed by the militia. It's also noted for [[Crowning Music of Awesome|its score]], which [[Barack Obama]] had playing in the background during his Presidential acceptance speech.
Is also known, however, for it extreme cases of [[Politically-Correct History]], having plenty of (partly blatant) [[Historical Villain Upgrade
{{tropelist}}
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* [[Badass Preacher]]: Reverend Oliver is recruited for the militia by Gabriel.
{{quote|"A shepherd must tend his flock...''(snatches off wig and puts on [[Nice Hat|black, broad-brimmed hat]])'' and at times, '''fight off the wolves'''."}}
* [[Badass Long Hair]]
* [[Batman Gambit]]:
** He then
* [[Berserk Button]]: Try to harm Martin's family and you will have a tomahawk stuck in your skull before long.
* [[Berserker Tears]]: At the end of the ambush, in [[Chewing the Scenery|
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: The French making the save at the Siege/Battle of Yorktown.
* [[Black Vikings]]: Sort of. Martin's Carolina plantation workers state they're all freed men, despite such a thing not historically happening until the Civil War.{{verify}}
* [[Blood Is the New Black]]
* [[Brick Joke]]: Benjamin's inability to build a rocking chair. He finds one in Cornwallis' headquarters and tries to examine it until Cornwallis catches him.
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* [[Enemy Mine]]: The French aren't about American independence as much as they are seeing their old rivals, the British, humiliated. Personified by the relationship between Benjamin Martin and the Frenchman Jean Villeneuve. Martin is well-known to have massacred and mutilated a French force during the French And Indian War.
* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: While not actually evil, Cornwallis is still appalled at Tavington's brutal tactics and (rightly) faults him for the increasing resistance against the British from the American militia. Also, one of Tavington's men complains that there's no honor in burning down a church full of civilians, and is clearly reluctant to follow his orders to do so.
** Really, despite the movie's reputation for being anti-British, ''most'' of the British soldiers are shown to dislike Tavington's orders and tactics... ultimately their sin is going along with them anyway.
** While not explicitly pointed out by the movie, some of the loyalists clearly either committed some "treason" of their own or outright defected after their leader was willing to tell Tavington where Martin's children were, since Martin and his militia show up at the plantation house only about ten minutes after the British do. Apparently their loyalty to the King had reached its limit.
* [[Evil Brit]] - Again, Tavington is spot on. To a much lesser extent General Cornwallis, his staff and Tavington's loyalist aide-de-camp. Yet, they all belong to the least sympathetic characters of the story, mainly because [[Aristocrats Are Evil]].
* [[Evil Feels Good]]: Tavington's real motivation. He claims it's about gaining honor and esteem through victory, but various of his actions and reactions make it clear that he's simply an egomaniac and a psychopath using the war as a chance to indulge himself. When he points his pistol at Benjamin Martin for the first time, Martin doesn't react, simply [[Facing Death With Dignity|facing the possibility of his death with strength and dignity]]. Disappointed with this reaction, Tavington turns the pistol on Martin's children to get the pleading he was hoping for.
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* [[Faux Affably Evil]] - Travington.
* [[Fire-Forged Friends]]: Dan and Occam. Dan repeatedly insults Occam because he's a black slave but after Occam saved Dan's life during a battle, Dan softened on him. After the war, they work together to help rebuild Benjamin's house. Occam was a free man by that time, voluntarily staying with the militia even though he no longer owed them service.
* [[Foe-Tossing Charge]]: In the final battle, both Colonel Tavington and Ben Martian done this. Each then slices, shoots, and wades his way through the other side's [[Mooks]] to get to his nemesis.
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: After Anne Howard and Mrs. Howard sew Gabriel Martin into a bundling bag when he stays the night, Mr. Howard listens nervously at the door. Mrs. Howard says, "Don't worry, I'm a better seamstress than my mother was." Mr. Howard looks mortified and replies, "I hope so!"
** [[Hilarious in Hindsight]] given what the occupation of "Seamstress" [[The Oldest Profession|was often taken to be.]]
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** And his younger sons have lost their innocence when he enlisted them to rescue Gabriel.
* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: Martin's militia.
* [[Redshirt Army|
** Don't you mean Red Coat Armies?
* [[Retirony]]: Occam, the black slave, subverts this trope
* [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]: Benjamin Martin does this twice: the first time,
** Gabriel also attempts this after {{spoiler|Tavington corrals a bunch of innocent townspeople -- including his new bride (who was also his [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]) -- into their town's church and burns it down, killing everyone inside.}} His didn't work.
** Also, the ambush can be considered as both a [[Roaring Rampage of Rescue]] to save Gabriel and a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] as mentioned above.
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* [[Sophisticated As Hell]]
{{quote|'''General Lord Cornwallis''': ''(referring to a replacement formal coat)'' It is a horse blanket.
'''Colonel William Tavington''': Oh, I don't know, my Lord. It's really... quite nice.
'''General O'Hara''': Very nice, my Lord.
'''General Lord Cornwallis''': Very well, it is a ''nice'' horse blanket.
** Then later on in the same scene:
{{quote|'''General Lord Cornwallis''':...give me the horse blanket...}}
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* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: fueled when Thomas is killed and used to destroy an entire British detachment.
* [[War Is Hell]]
* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: The scene when Martin and some of his men slaughter a group of
* [[Wretched Hive]]: Where Benjamin goes to recruit men for his militia. Them getting pissed at someone shouting "God save King George!" tells him he's in the right place.
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[[Category:The Patriot]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:Military and Warfare Films]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patriot, The}}
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