Patriots Day

Patriots Day

Starring Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, J.K. Simmons, Michelle Monaghan

Directed by Peter Berg

The Story:
April 15, 2013.  A day that Boston - and the rest of America - will never forget.  For Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), it began as an ordinary, boring day.  Having been demoted recently, he is now assigned to watch the finish line at the Boston Marathon, a task he deems too below his pay rate.  Meanwhile, couple Patrick (Christopher O'Shea) and Jessica (Rachel Brosnahan) are eagerly anticipating watching the race, and brothers Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) and Dzhokhar (Alex Wolff) Tsarnaev are planning the most heinous act.

As the race nears an end, an explosion is heard.  Then another.  Three people are dead, and countless others are wounded severely.  Saunders leaps into action, along with Police Commissioner Ed Davis (John Goodman), Mayor Thomas Menino (Vincent Curatola), FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) and Governor Deval Patrick (Michael Beach).  They set up a command center and begin an investigation to find who was responsible for this terrible attack.

Meanwhile, the Tsarnaev brothers are planning their escape, after killing Officer Sean Collier (Jake Picking) for not giving up his gun, they abduct Dun Meng (Jimmy O. Yang) and use his car as an escape vehicle, but with the police nearing their destination - as well as a series of heroic acts - the brothers come face-to-face with Boston's finest, and shows the true indomitable spirit of the American people.

The Synopsis:
Peter Berg - who is well-known for directing true-life events such as "Lone Survivor" and "Deepwater Horizon" - returns true to form with "Patriots Day," the film about the events of the Boston Marathon Bombing.  Also true to form, he recruited longtime partner Mark Wahlberg to star, but unlike his portrayal of real-life hero Marcus Luttrell, he plays fictional Sergeant Tommy Saunders.  This is the only downside to an otherwise moving, soaring, poignant tale of loss, resilience and the power of the human spirit.

The issue with having Wahlberg as top billing is that he is, as stated earlier, a fictional character.  In an event with so many real-life people you can derive things from, Berg focused on Walhberg to serve as the man who literally stumbles his way to every big situation in the real-life event.  From being at ground zero when the bombs go off, to being at the shootout between the Tsarnaevs and the Watertown police (here I would be remissed to not mention the brilliant portrayal of J.K. Simmons, who played Watertown Police Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese, who once again gives a commanding performance), to being at the boat where Dzhokhar was found.  In a way he serves as an omniscient third party for the audience to connect with, but he's also given his own sob story that doesn't jive as well with the real-life terrors the people went through.

Still, despite that, the film doesn't exploit what happened but rather focuses on the work the police and FBI did to find the terrorists, and the great lengths they went to achieve it.  There were no standouts in the movie, as everyone worked as a well-conceived unit.  Typically films like this are about the friction between the state police and the FBI over who has jurisdiction, and while it was somewhat mentioned (by Wahlberg's character, no less), it wasn't a huge conflict as everyone worked very well together.  It was interesting to see how they came to their conclusions through general trial-and-error, and by old fashioned detective work.

When it comes to the Tsarnaevs, Berg portrays them in very different ways.  Tamerlan is the ringleader, the one with the highly obvious accent, and the one who is the brains of the group.  He wants America to suffer at any cost, and shows absolutely no remorse.  Dzhokhar is portrayed as a spoiled, know-it-all brat who either has no clue the extent of his crime or really doesn't care in the slightest.  When they carjack Dun Meng and take him hostage, Dzhokhar asks him if he has a port in his car where he can plug his iPod and complains to Tamerlan that he can't drive the nicer car.  Both men are shown as the detestable, deplorable people they were, and it was all the more rewarding to see justice being done.

What I liked the most about "Patriots Day" is how it showcased the true heroism of everyone involved in the events, especially the regular citizens caught in the crossfire.  The story of Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes is moving, as both lost a leg in the explosion but it didn't deter them from still competing in future Marathons and didn't tear them apart.  Sean Collier was a mild-mannered college kid who was also an officer who lost his life because he bravely wouldn't give up his gun, and seeing him before the events showed him to be a kind, caring person who had a crush on a fellow student and loved the Zac Brown Band.  Finally there was Dun Meng - who Berg spent the majority of the movie with - who showed extreme heroism by keeping his cool and managing to not just escape the Tsarnaevs, but provide the police the information they needed to apprehend them.  The tension was high and you could feel his anxiety and fear, and felt a swell of excitement as he made his escape.

Some people feel this came out too soon, as only three years later the wounds are profoundly fresh.  While I agree that it was rather quick, it was still done with the utmost care and respect for everyone involved.  Plus I found it very interesting that I was talking to a co-worker about seeing the film, and he asked me what it was about.  I told him it was about the Boston Marathon Bombing, and he had no clue what that was.  I was rather shocked to learn that there was someone out there who never heard of what happened, and that's why I feel this movie is important to see.  Even though it doesn't follow the events 100% (no film, no matter how much it's based on a real event, ever is), it still serves as a way to enlighten people and make them investigate on their own what really happened.

The Summary:
Despite Mark Wahlberg's fictional character, ultimately, what "Patriots Day" did very well was show how, no matter how many times terrorists try to kill the American spirit, they will never succeed.

The Score: A