'Patriots Day' Review

Image from Showbiz

By Diego Coya

            Patriots Day is the third collaboration between Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg, following Lone Survivor (2013) and Deepwater Horizon (2016). It tells the story of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the ensuing citywide hunt for the terrorists responsible. Several characters are based on real people; the film shows their stories and how the bombing affected their lives. It also showcases the chaos and fear that spread throughout the nation, and how people united after this tragedy.

            I was highly anticipating Patriots Day because I am a huge fan of the collaboration between Berg and Wahlberg. Their films based on true events never come off as exploitation, but rather as respect and tribute to the people caught up in the tragedy. Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon evidence this, and I can confidently say that Patriots Day is Peter Berg’s best film to date. I hope this film get some Academy Award nominations.

            Mark Wahlberg once again gives an excellent performance playing a character based on three different Boston police officers who worked the day of the marathon. He gives his role a lot of emotion and commitment; it would be great to see him nominated for either this or Deepwater Horizon. The cast also includes Kevin Bacon, J.K. Simmons, John Goodman, and Michelle Monahan. Everyone turns in a great performance; especially Themo Melikidze and Alex Wolff who play the brothers who bombed the marathon. Their performances were truly amazing, because they played such unlikeable characters; particularly Themo Melikize who sold the character as sinister as he can be. The acting is so good in this movie that at times I forgot I was watching a film; I felt like I was part of the manhunt watching real police officers and detectives trying to capture the terrorists.

            Similar to Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon, characters in Patriots Day are easy to connect with and care for. I was invested in every one’s story, and when they showed the interviews during the end of the movie with the real life victims, I felt very emotional. What makes Patriots Day so special is that it is a fantastic tribute to the people of Boston, and it is about people coming together after a tragedy. It is so well constructed, and it seriously deserves some award consideration come Oscar time. While this film isn’t doing too well at the box office, I hope more people see it in theaters, because it is one of the best movies of 2016 for sure.

Rating: 10/10