SONS OF LIBERTY: MINI-SERIES DONE RIGHT

Mini-series can be great or boring, depending on how the topic at hand is handled and if the reason for making it that long is done properly. When a mini-series just fills in time with fodder it makes for one tremendously tedious watch. SONS OF LIBERTY is not one of those series. Instead it is reminiscent of the old Walt Disney movies like JOHNNY TREMAIN or the classic mini-series based on the John Jake’s Kent Family Chronicles novels popular in the 70s. Not only that, it’s nice to see a movie about the founding fathers that looks to elevate rather than tear them down.

The series follows the lives of several of those founding fathers, choosing to focus mostly on Sam Adams (Ben Barnes) from his early days as a scalawag (you don’t get to use that term often these days) to a budding statesman as he matures. Along the way most of his time in the series is spent with John Hancock (Rafe Spall), a businessman with no intent on helping the protest movement between the colony settlers and the British king. He’s there to make money. It is only when the possibility of turning more of that over to the king in increasing amounts does he finally take a stand.

Meeting in secrecy the colonists, who are averse to the King raising taxes on them to line the pockets of the wealthy back home, begin to discuss what to do about the situation. No one wants war and no one expects the outcome from something like this ending with their freedom. But as the story progresses events are put into play that make them reconsider. The spark that ignites them comes later in the series but it does come. The end result we all know.

That may be a short summation of what the series is about but the fact it all events in the program revolve around those basic elements, almost all focusing on Adams. Other characters like Dr. Joseph Warren (Ryan Eggold), Paul Revere (Michael Raymond-James), George Washington (Jason O’Mara) and Ben Franklin (a delightful Dean Norris) all work into this saga as well but none are as central to this telling as is Adams.

It seems that these days patriotism is all but lost on the young. Stories about our past history seem to be developed with the intent to tear down those feelings of pride in our country and our founding fathers. It’s nice to see them portrayed as the heroes they truly were, blemishes and all but not solely focused on those. Some have criticized the series for several inaccuracies portrayed here. Apparently dramatic license is only allowed when tearing something down. My guess is no one planning on watching this is thinking of it as a documentary. Instead it’s a telling of the founding of this country and the men involved in making it happen. For me that made it not only worth watching but enjoyable at the same time. This is a keeper to be watched with young people whenever the chance allows.

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