Well made, well acted, but totally hackneyed and over the top, it's just a revenge fantasy, masquerading as a historical epic. I loved it in theaters, when I was 15, but watching it today is just hilarious, esp. when you take into consideration how crazy Mel Gibson is. LOL at the slave subplot, Gibson hacking that dude up getting blood all over in front of his kid, so much funny shyt in that movie....Gibson leading the charge with the American flag and then killing a horse with it...too much. I was legit upset when they killed Heath though, at that age. Movie made me a patriot for about an hour after the movie.