Patriots Day Review

Written by: Sean Hannon 

Patriots Day is an action drama movie pertaining to the Boston Marathon bombing that took place in April 2013. It follows the stories of multiple characters like Sgt. Tommy Saunders, portrayed by Mark Wahlberg, a cop on the scene hoping for a promotion and desperately tracking the bombers. Richard DesLauriers (staged by Kevin Bacon) is an FBI agent who is also trying to discover the identity of the bombers. Most surprisingly, the viewer follows the story of the actual bombers and witness their attempt to flee the boston area.

Summary

Tommy Saunders, a cop desperately seeking a promotion, is assigned as a guard at the finish line at the Boston Marathon. Two Chechen brothers plant bombs in backpacks in certain parts around the finish line. When the bombs go off, Tommy Saunders and the other guards help the survivors and later join the search for the Chechen men with the help of the FBI, the Governor of Massachusetts, and the people of Boston. In the meantime the bombers attempt to leave Boston by stealing cars and taking hostages. Of course, everyone knows the fate of these bombers but their inner motivations that are shown are very intriguing.

Positives

Every good drama requires some comic relief and this film does it very well. It highlights the classic blue-collar Boston stereotype with its harshness and accents. It has a very prominent “Boston Strong” theme that shows the unity of the Boston community during the 5 day manhunt. It does a very good job portraying characters realistically, sometimes the movie cuts to one from one of the bombers entering a store to actual surveillance footage of the bomber in the store, which adds a touch of realism. Although the viewer knows the end of the story, the movie does a fantastic job keeping tense and interesting.

Negative

There is not much to say negatively about this movie, as it does its job pretty well. I can recommend people to not see this movie if they are disturbed by blood as after the bombing it does showcase limbs separated from the bodies and many other things not for the faint of heart or anyone with a weak stomach. Personally I enjoyed the accents, but if you are annoyed by thick accents this may not be the film for you. The drama can be very tense so if you do not enjoy that I would pass this movie.

Overall

Writing this review made me want to see this movie again, the characters and plot were portrayed perfectly and when it gets too tense the comic relief works very well. If you were to watch a movie this weekend I could not recommend Patriot's Day more.