Braveheart does the Revolutionary War in the Mel Gibson epic The Patriot, directed by Roland Emmerich and produced by Dean Devlin, the same creative team that brought us that dubious creative achievement called Godzilla. You might think that the heavy-handed summer duo responsible for Independence Day and Stargate is an odd choice to put together a historical thriller such as this...and for the most part, you'd be right. The Patriot, despite a couple of well-staged battle scenes, is a predictable and too-long piece of revenge cinema.

The Patriot is set in South Carolina, in 1776. The Colonies are calling for volunteers to join the army against the Crown. Benjamin Martin (Gibson), a peaceful father and farmer wants nothing to do with the Revolution. However, after a fateful sequence of violent events occur on his property, Martin finds himself dragged into the war with a passionate, William Wallace-style fury. He accepts a command from Colonel Harry Burwell (Chris Cooper) to lead the local militia against the British scum, and it's not long before Martin is known as the ghost, the subject of local legends and whispers, and he becomes a legitimate force that the British fear.

Although you might say The Patriot is something of a departure for Emmerich and Devlin, it suffers from some of the same imperfections as their sci-fi bubblegum flicks. Characters are thinly written and realized; the action is predictable and plodding; and, most egregiously, historical accuracy has given way to a painfully cloying political correctness. You'll find yourself gagging at the noble slave who stays and fight even after he's won his freedom, and at the revisionist portrayal of the British as mindless, murderous animals slaughtering innocent Colonials, and at the touchy-feely slave encampment, which is imagined as some kind of otherworldly paradise.

Admittedly, Gibson is a powerful presence in the film, but you can't help but feel like you've seen the portrayal in other Gibson films—not just Braveheart but also Payback. And regrettably, that presence is insufficient to overcome the film's many flaws. There's a Hollywood sheen to this shallow epic, and by the end of the final battle, in which Martin achieves his revenge against vile Colonel Tavington (Jason Isaacs) in full Gibson glower, you'll almost taste the rotten-eggs runniness of that gloss.

Columbia/TriStar presents The Patriot in a reference-quality anamorphic-widescreen transfer of the film's original 2.35:1 theatrical aspect ratio. Colors are incredibly warm and accurate, and detail reaches deep into backgrounds.

This Superbit presentation is exquisite, even when compared with the original release, which boasts fine image quality. On my 65-inch rear-projection monitor, the differences were more than subtle. Apparently, the same print was used for the transfer, but the entire Superbit presentation bursts with lifelike depth, whereas the 2000 release—in comparison—seems artificial and flat.

Anyone who doesn't notice a significant improvement in this Superbit release of The Patriot either needs a monitor calibration or an appointment with the eye doctor. Particularly if you have a large monitor, you must own this release if you're a fan of the film.

The original release's Dolby Digital 5.1 track is very impressive, offering a wide soundstage, active surrounds that thrum with even the tiniest aural detail, clear and accurate dialog, thundering bass, and a soaring delivery of the John Williams score.

That track returns in this Superbit release, but Columbia/TriStar has added a DTS that—impossibly—betters the Dolby track. The only word I can come up with that describes how the DTS track achieves such high marks is "elegance." Bass is richer, and surround information is even more accurately rendered. This is the kind of audio track that reawakens you to the pleasures of home theater. Truly reference quality.

On this Superbit Deluxe edition, Columbia/TriStar has placed all supplementary material on a second disc so that Disc 1 can devote all its space to the video and audio tracks. All of the supplements that were on the original disc are present here, except for the audio commentary from director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin, which has been chopped in favor of the DTS track, presumably.

First up is the visual effects interactive featurette, which lets you watch, in a three-paneled display, the development of five special-effects shots.

Next is the 10-minute The Art of War featurette, a glimpse at how the battles were researched, staged, and shot. The 10-minute True Patriots featurette talks about the American history that served as a basis for the film.

A series of photo galleries lets you view stills covering ten categories: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Gullah Island, Family Circle, Continentals, British, Battle Action, Behind the Scenes, Militia, and Townsfolk.

You also get six deleted scenes that you'll probably watch only once. The scenes are in non-anamorphic widescreen with 2.0 surround sound, and you can view them with or without commentary from Emmerich and Devlin.

The theatrical trailers are included, as well as a collection of talent files.

Finally, the disc presents conceptual art to film comparisons, in which you can compare painterly concept art with the finished sequences.

This Superbit release of The Patriot is a must-buy if you value high-end presentation. The image improvements are more than minor, particularly if you have a high-quality setup. And the DTS track itself is worth the extra dollars.