I guess my opinion is not representative of the common attitude toward the movie here . I thought it was overall a sub-par movie.
The entire mess was over revenge. The "patriotism" was Gibson's vengeance with a flag in hand. The worst part is, I went in with no expectations, and only knowledge of the title and starring member of the cast. My view did not change after that... it remained a movie, called the patriot, starring mel gibson.
It has a similar plotline to Gladiator (different time, etc), but at least there was a sense of integrity and nobility in Crowe's portrayal of Maximus. I really didn't get that feel that was meant to be portrayed from Gibson.