Patriots Day

2016 • 133 minutes
4.4
1.93K reviews
80%
Tomatometer
R
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Based upon the dramatic real-life manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombers, this powerful action-thriller follows Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg) as he joins brave survivors, first responders, and investigators in a race against time to find the bombers before they strike again. Directed by Peter Berg (LONE SURVIVOR) and featuring a stellar cast, PATRIOTS DAY is a stirring tribute to the Boston community’s strength and courage in the face of adversity.
Rating
R

Ratings and reviews

4.4
1.93K reviews
Rory Riggins
March 23, 2017
Seemingly senseless acts of violence beg for explanation. Our hearts are torn apart by horror - nothing is scarier than random violence without cause. This film acquiesces to a black and white sense of morality. That is perfectly fine in Star Wars. In a depiction of a recent historically significant violent event, tempers and motivations must be explored. In examining a recent event of magnitude, care and balance are imperative. We've seen this done in the likes of United 93 and Zero Dark Thirty (and others). Patriots Day beckons a catharsis of catching the "bad guy" likened to euro action thrillers like Taken. Taken is great because it is fiction that feeds on tropes. It is exploitation for the purpose of entertainment based on fiction. Patriot's Day is exploitation for the purpose of entertainment based on a horrible and tragic bombing in Boston. This is exploitation of fear for monetary gain. It is filmmaking at its lowest: this is propaganda.
130 people found this review helpful
Taylor Tracy
April 17, 2017
Being from Boston, living in Boston during the bombings and subsequent manhunt, as well as working at MIT where the death of Officer Collier was felt throughout the community, this movie had me bawling. It brought up so many emotions I didn't know I still had in me regarding these events. The main character, played by Wahlberg, is fictional but was necessary in order to have the events be told in a way that didn't turn it into a documentary. A big worry was that this fictional main character would be the focus of the plot, but that is thankfully not the case. The events of the bombings and manhunt are the core of this movie. There is some character development in the fictional character in order for the audience to be able to relate to him more, but it doesn't go beyond him being a typical Bostonian. They integrated actual footage from the Bombings, which I did not expect and it shook me up. I'm glad they did, though, for the sake of doing the retelling of events justice. There were roadblocks during filming from local communities who did not want to relive the events through the filming, but regardless the production did a great job with getting around those. I didn't like how they painted Officer Collier's character, but I do like that the family agreed to have the parts at his home filmed in his actual home, with real pictures of him zoomed in on (despite the actor cast as him looking quite different). The interviews at the end were a good touch as well as the footage at Fenway after the manhunt was over. It really gives you a good sense of the community here in Boston as well as the level of tragedy that was felt. What I would have liked to have seen was the fact that so many people went to local hospitals to donate blood that they had to turn people away. That was one of the most tear jerking parts of the bombings as they played out in reality. Listening to a radio scanner during the manhunt (and living less than a mile away), the events in the movie are very close to what happened. I remember the moment I heard them saying over the radio that there were improvised explosives, more bombs being thrown at the police officers. I was with a friend in my living room and we had the same look on our faces..."What on earth is happening to us? Why are they doing this?" After it was announced the bombers were captured, my friend and I ran out into the streets, EVERYONE did. We went to a local bar where they were playing the Dropkick Murphy's and everyone was hugging and celebrating. When we saw police officers outside, people went running to shake their hands, thank them for their service, and take pictures with them. The officers happily obliged. Never have I ever felt more like part of a family with every single person in this city than the night the manhunt was over. The nightmare was over. Sure, it was a small scale nightmare compared to 9/11, but when something like that hits so close to home...The death count doesn't matter, the shockwave of terror still spreads and that's when people come together to stand up against the forces attacking them. This movie was well done. I recommend it to anyone, but with a trigger warning for those in Boston during the bombings and how close their ties to the events were. Very difficult movie to watch for the loved ones of those who were killed.
29 people found this review helpful
Christian Publishing House
March 28, 2017
IT WAS GREAT FROM BEGINNING TO END. It is well worth the cost. However, see below. Not once did they use the word Muslim or Islam through the whole movie. It was terrorist this and terrorist that. EVEN after all this time, they still do not understand radical Islam. After the movie, some of the real people were commenting. I think it was the Governor, who said, 'they came at us with hatred that day.' No, no, no, they came at you with an apocalyptic, theological worldview, a holy war, in which they were soldiers, who will never give up their cause. If you refuse to know your enemy, you will never defeat your enemy.
34 people found this review helpful