Reserved for TALK BACK on THE PATRIOT

Hey FOlks, Harry here. This space is reserved for discussions about THE PATRIOT. I saw the final print the other day, and felt that all the way across the board it was an improvement from the version I saw. A couple of minor problems I had originally were cured, and John Williams score was... pretty good, but it wasn't the out of the park brilliant never can forget it score that I was hoping for out of him. And I'm actually left pondering what David Arnold's score would've felt like. Overall... upon seeing both PERFECT STORM and THE PATRIOT within 36 hours... I have to go with THE PATRIOT as being the better film... simply because it's story and characters are more fully realized... and as groundbreaking as the effects in THE PERFECT STORM are... I just love a great period epic over a modern day one anyday. Though.... obviously the viceral thrills of THE PERFECT STORM are astounding. THE PATRIOT... well, it signals a corner turned for director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin. You know... it's going to take awhile for many of their critics to forget a film like GODZILLA... and for some ID4 and STARGATE.... but watching THE PATRIOT, I just get a sense that this was a great maturing process for this pair and this company. Now... of course we'll have to wait and see what they come up with next... will they become serious... always chasing golden bald men in March filmmakers... or will they bring the maturity of storytelling over to their genre work and make the type of smart geek films we love and adore? Or was this a one shot break? I don't know, but I sure as hell love this film.