Al Pacino transported to the American Revolution

This was made by the acclaimed director of "Chariots of Fire" and "Greystoke," but it flopped at the box office and was nominated for four Razzies. Is it THAT bad? No. It does a good job of taking the viewer into the midst of the Revolutionary War as a foot soldier (Tom & his son) or worker (Daisy) with the use of handheld cameras. The situation isn't fun; it's chaotic, life-threatening, dirty, grisly and full of hardships. The Continentals are a ragtag group of Americans suffering privations while the Redcoats are a disciplined, well-supplied army with degenerate officers. Speaking of which, the Brits aren't painted in a positive light.

While the film isn't as effective as "The Patriot," especially in regard to character development, it makes for a worthwhile companion piece. This one focuses on The Battle of Long Island in August, 1776, Valley Forge in December, 1777, as well as Yorktown in 1781; "The Patriot" concerns the Carolina theater of the war.

On the downside, the English and Norwegian locations are sometimes a questionable substitution for New York, Pennsylvania and coastal Virginia, especially the mountains of Norway (standing in for northern New York and possibly the Saint Lawrence River region), but at least they're picturesque and the sequences don't last long. Meanwhile the the coastal cliff top near Challaborough Bay, South Devon in England, is a lousy substitution for coastal Virginia (Yorktown). Other sequences were shot in southern England and are serviceable (Norfolk and Devon). If you don't inaccurate geography, this isn't a problem, of course.

The scene where Daisy leaves the fort at Valley Forge and is attacked by a British detachment on horseback is awkwardly executed but, hey, it's a movie, not a documentary. I was inspired to freshen up on the real history.

The movie runs 2 hour, 6 minutes, but there's a Director's Cut from 2009 that's 10 minutes shorter and features narration by Pacino.