Well, I did not see this film turning out as well as it did. As for most the films I’ve reviewed on theVade recently, I honestly had no intentions to both see or review this film. But like most the films I end up going to, I truly loved this movie.
Patriots Day is a 2016 drama/thriller film directed by Peter Berg, and is based on the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the subsequent terrorist manhunt that proceeded after the attacks. The film stars Mark Wahlberg, J. K. Simmons, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon and Michelle Monaghan, and follows the story of multiple victims of the attacks, the police involved, the FBI, and the terrorists themselves.
So lets just dive into this review. Patriots Day has one of the best lineup of cast members that I have seen in quite awhile. I’d love to talk about each person’s performance, but I just don’t have the time to do that, and you don’t have the attention span to care, either. But the one person I’d like to talk about is obviously Mark Wahlberg. This has to be one of his best roles, as this man really flexes his acting muscles in this film. Wahlberg’s performance is honestly Oscar worthy, and his character is almost an exact reflection of himself. It truly feels like Wahlberg was thrown into this situation, and went through it as Mark Wahlberg. That’s by no means a bad thing, as his character seems incredibly genuine, and real. So bravo, Mr. Wahlberg, this is by far some of the best acting I’ve ever seen.
But that isn’t where this movie stops. Lets talk about some key parts of the film that had some incredible effects on the audience. Without a doubt, the scene of the bombs going off had to be one of the most emotional scenes I have ever seen in a film. I had to do everything in my power to hold back the tears in my eyes and crying like a baby. The empathy and emotions you feel throughout these minutes of horror are just overwhelming, but really helps push the tone and emotion of the film to the audience. Not only did that scene really move me inside, but without spoiling too much, there was another scene in which a man gets carjacked by the two terrorists. The subsequent events that follow are incredibly stressful and heart pounding, and I don’t think I’ve ever sweated so much in my life. My heart was literally beating out of my chest, and I was positive the woman next to me could hear it too. Not only is this great acting, but also great writing as the tone is spot on for each scene in this film.
Let me just say that the writing in this film is beyond outstanding. The pacing is great, the tone is great, the characters, the comic relief.. it’s all great! This movie honestly has it all, from tear jerking scenes to hilarious one liners. I’ve never been more impressed by a film’s writing than what Patriots Day brought to the big screen. So bravo to the screenwriters and to Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, who wrote the novel Boston Strong, of which the movie is based on. Bravo, indeed.
But as always, no film is without sin, and yes Patriots Day has some issues. But the biggest issue I had with this film wasn’t the fact that there was something wrong, it had more to deal with how it was executed. What was it? Well, the prologue was my main issue with the film. Now I didn’t hate that part of the film, it just felt like it didn’t belong there. So then what would you have done, Zach? Well I would have made it a post or mid credits scene. Sure I really enjoyed that part of the film, but it just felt like it took away from the overall tone of the way the film ended on. A perfect example is the ending of the film Sully, which shows the real crew and passengers of the plane during a mid credits scene. I felt like that would have been a much better route for this film to go with, as it would have made the ending a lot more impactful to the audience. I also had a more personal issue with how many different character arcs there were in the film, but each person did play an important part in the film, and it was just more of a personal issue that I had with the movie.
But what more can I say about this film? I really enjoyed Patriots Day, and it has quickly become one of my favorite films of the New Year (granted, it is still January). But Patriots Day had to be one of the most emotional, heart pounding films I have ever seen. Although there are some minor tonal issues with the prologue and personal issues with the amount of character arcs in this film, I overall really enjoyed Patriots Day for what it was. In the end, Patriots Day pulled out with a “Very Good” on theVade Review Bar, and I can also see this film crossing the finish line with an Oscar in someone’s hands by the end of the year.
