The American Revolution has been re-enacted on film and video more than 130 times, according to the industry site IMDb, from the 1908 short The Spirit of '76, to The Devil's Disciple (1959) starring Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier, to the Mel Gibson vehicle The Patriot in 2008.

Could one more make a difference?

Yes, if it happens to be John Adams, HBO's profound, unflinching mini-series from 2008 featuring Paul Giamatti in the title role.

No such distinction attaches to Sons of Liberty, a three-part mini-series that will be shown on the cable channel History on consecutive nights Sunday through Tuesday.

Directed by industry veteran Kari Skogland (Liberty Stands Still, The Borgias) and featuring a fine cast of American and British thesps, the energetic, irreverent, and at times humorous six-hour drama is certainly not undistinguished, but it's no classic of the genre.

History buffs will have to peruse the series for inaccuracies. Like most Americans, my study of the revolution progressed no further than high school. And I must admit I was impressed by how Sons of Liberty tackled the historical events while also jazzing them up for viewers. (In a slightly dishonest move, the drama sexes up all the major revolutionaries by casting much younger men in the roles.)

The first and freshest episode is especially impressive. Set almost entirely in Boston, it opens in 1765, eight years before the Boston Tea Party, and it beautifully illustrates how much the revolution was inspired and driven by colonists' concrete economic concerns - and not merely abstract ideals about equality.

The story is narrated by the rough but idealistic Samuel Adams, who was then a 43-year-old local politician and tax collector. British hunk Ben Barnes (Dorian Gray, The Big Wedding), who is 33 but easily passes for 25, plays Adams as a roguish, charming ne'er-do-well.

The series plays up the tradition that he was a connoisseur of beer, if not an actual brewer. Barnes' Samuel practically lives in a tavern and always has a tankard of ale in his hand.

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'Sons of Liberty' isn't art, but it's solid