The Patriot is a 2000 American epic historical war film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Robert Rodat. Starring Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Gregory Smith, Joely Richardson, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, and Tom Wilkinson, the film follows Benjamin Martin (Gibson), a widowed American colonist and veteran who is opposed to going to war with Great Britain but, along with his eldest son Gabriel (Ledger), gets swept into the American Revolutionary War after his home life is disrupted by the British Army and his son Thomas (Smith) is murdered by the ruthless Colonel William Tavington (Isaacs). The Patriot premiered in Century City on June 27, 2000, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30, 2000. It received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with Gibson's performance and the battle sequences being praised.