The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

An Australian fights for America.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III June 5, 2026

The Patriot's 25th anniversary was last year, but fans won't mind celebrating a little late: Sony's welcome new 4K UHD Steelbook edition is another one of their all-around upgrades that stands as a definitive effort. It very much follows the template of previous releases like The Da Vinci Code, replacing an already pretty terrific 2018 UHD edition while adding Dolby Vision, improved encoding, the film's Extended Cut which was previously only on Blu-ray, and a full set of familiar legacy bonus features, all wrapped up in deluxe packaging aimed right at collectors. The only slight turn-off is Sony's typically high price tag, but this feels like the kind of premium product usually handled by boutique labels.

As for the film itself, it's been covered twice already: the already-formidable 164 minute Theatrical Cut was handled by Martin Liebman in his review of the 2018 UHD edition, while the 175 minute Extended Cut was tackled by Ben Williams; both are linked above. Both awarded the film four stars but, as my 3.5 rating indicates, I'm not quite as enamored with The Patriot and this is mostly for reasons of length: even the comparatively slightly leaner Theatrical Cut runs about 20 minutes too long in my opinion, so you know which version I defaulted to for this 4K review. Despite my reservations about length and certain aspects of its tone, however, The Patriot is rousing entertainment and a largely well-received entry in the admittedly hit-and-miss filmography of both director Roland Emmerich and star Mel Gibson.

As for this release's visual upgrades, Sony's new 4K edition offers mild to noticeable improvements across the board and having both options on separate discs is certainly nice... even though it probably could have been accomplished via seamless branching, since its "new" additions are nothing more than deleted scenes we're all familiar with.

The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

NOTE: These screenshots are sourced from a previous release and do not represent this 4K edition.

Sony's new 2160p/HDR10/Dolby Vision transfer -- which appears basically identical on both included cuts of the film, save for perhaps negligible differences in their bit rates -- may not reveal night-and-day improvements over what we saw on the Theatrical Cut 2018 UHD edition, as that disc was also a BD-100, but it appears to be newly encoded (with general improvements courtesy of Dolby Vision) and the Extended Cut is obviously making its 4K debut here.

Having just covered Sony's recent 4K upgrade of The Da Vinci Code, it's very easy to see similar improvements across the board here even though both films feature substantially different visual aesthetics. The more traditionally-shot The Patriot is loaded with warm, evocative imagery and cooler moments for loads of color contrast along the way, regularly staying within comfortable territory for historical dramas and looking great in the process. Fine detail has always been one of The Patriot's visual strengths and it's more precisely rendered than ever here, with the new Dolby Vision layer noticeably tightening its palette and improving shadow detail, contrast, and black levels while not visibly altering the appearance intended by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (Being There, The Natural). Film grain is clearly visible here, obviously wavering a bit depending on mood and lighting as well as during most if not all of the Extended Cut's added scenes. As always, everything has been handled with care and results in a consistently satisfying presentation.

The high bit rate on both discs also easily sidesteps any perceivable compression issues during this lengthy film, although I don't remember any obvious problems with Sony's older 4K Theatrical Cut disc either. All things considered, this is a pretty clear visual upgrade; it's not always night-and-day, of course, but those with medium to large displays or especially projectors should be able to notice a number of tangible differences that improve the experience.

The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Both versions of The Patriot include full-strength Dolby Atmos audio, and there's no reason to believe this isn't the same mix as featured on Sony's 2018 UHD edition. (As for the Extended Cut sequences, they've all been seamlessly integrated from a sonic perspective.) And just for good measure, we also get the original DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track included on previous Blu-rays, so purists will be happy too. Simply put, both are terrific efforts and having a choice between two great audio options almost always translates to a perfect 5/5 rating.

Optional subtitles, including English (SDH), are included during the main feature and most extras listed below.

The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This two-disc set ships in a matte-finish Steelbook with a warm, illustrative collage of the main characters set against a blazing sunset that continues on the back cover; it's also text-free (save for the spine, of course), with only a small title and format details on the front of the J-card. Inside is another splash image -- this one a more traditional movie still of Benjamin Martin (Gibson) in action -- with both discs sitting on overlapping hubs. It's a reliably solid effort; nothing Earth-shattering, but evocative and different enough from previous releases to make a great impression.

As for the extras, they're divided across both discs but identical to those on the previous 4K edition.

DISC ONE - THEATRICAL CUT

• Audio Commentary - With director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin.

• The Art of War (9:45)

• The True Patriots (9:57)

• Photo Gallery

• Theatrical Trailer (2:39)

DISC TWO - EXTENDED CUT

• Deleted Scenes (6 clips, 13:01 total) - With optional commentary by Emmerich and Devlin. It's nice to see these again, of course, but shouldn't they be on the Theatrical Cut disc instead?

• Visual Effects Featurette (9:20)

• Conceptual Art to Film Comparison (4:48)

The Patriot 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"A historical epic by Roland Emmerich" is exactly what you get with The Patriot, which plays fast and loose with history (and is ocassionally held back by more than a few campy, over-the-top elements), but this is still rousing entertainment despite even the Theatrical Cut overstaying its welcome a bit. Even so, it has plenty of fans and Sony's UHD Steelbook edition will be well-received by them, as its sterling A/V merits cover both cuts -- with the Extended version making its 4K debut here -- and the legacy extras are included in full. Add in terrific packaging and you've got a great release, albeit one that might have benefitted from a few retrospective bonus features. Recommended to fans.