O Dia do Atentado

"Two people took many days and weeks to plan out hate but love responded in an instant." Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg) is a Sargent in the BPD. He is assigned to the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon. As the race is winding down the unthinkable happens and Tommy is right in the middle of one of the worst terrorist attacks in history. Now, with little evidence or leads Tommy, the FBI and every cop around conduct a manhunt to try and catch those responsible. For some reason I was not really looking forward to watching this. I think one of the reasons may have been the fact that it is still too close to the actual events and I remember watching it unfold on TV so I didn't think this would be that interesting or new. That being said I couldn't have been more wrong. The fact that this story is less than 4 years old really worked for it because it really milked the events prior and it felt tense, then once the bombs went off the pace really picked up and even though you know how it ends you are still tense and on the edge of your seat. I have said many times that there have been movies that are still able to pull off tenseness and excitement even though you know the entire story. This is one of those movies. Don't let the fact that you already know what happened dissuade you from watching this. This is much better than I was expecting and highly recommend this. Overall, tense and exciting. I really really enjoyed this and was engrossed the entire time. I give this an A.

PPs (police procedurals) are a staple of the film/TV industry and are (believe it or not) as common as comedies or romcoms. However, within that category, "big" PPs based on big crimes are not that common. In fact, you would have to go back to the early 70s when a number of "big PPs" like Day of the Jackal 1973 were all the rage.

So, a film like this done properly (and, trust me, this one is done perfectly) would be a treat all by itself. However, what makes this film extra-special is the extensive use of video footage.

Now, to be clear, video footage as a plot device is not new by itself. It is now, and has been used extensively in British film and TV because, as we all know, London is the most "surveyed" city on the planet.

But -- the point -- nothing the Brits have ever done with the forensic use of video comes even close to what Berg brings us in this excellent film. Much the same way that the original creators of CSI-Vegas introduced an entirely new sort of sub-genre, it can be argued that Patriots Day similarly has taken the police procedural to an entirely new level.

The film itself? Brilliant! Berg has taken a stellar group of A-listers and make them work as a team, mirroring on the subliminal level the theme of the movie, which is both positive, and hopeful, and suggests that if we all work together, we can accomplish pretty much anything.

Start to finish it keeps you going right up to the end

There seem to be a lot of negative reviews for this movie because of an apparent mis-telling of the story or true story or hoax or whatever else people have said. As I'm not American, and have very little to do with American events (so hence have no context as to the truth or hoax or conspiracy or whatever of the Boston Marathon) I shall just stick to reviewing the movie for what it is: a movie.

As a movie, they did a great job pulling it together. Mark Wahlberg plays his character perfectly. I have no idea if thats because of his acting ability, or if its more the fact that someone has yet again created a character that fits Mark Wahlberg to perfection. To be honest, it's probably the latter. Because of that, if you liked Deep Water Horizon then you'll probably like this because his acting is the same in both (which works fine because it's similar type of emotion and adrenaline you'd expect from both situations).

The character spread was also well done. You got to see the impacting/impacted characters early on and had a nice transition between their development as the movie progressed.

My only reservation about the film is that it pretty much gives you no explanation as to why the bombing even happened. Sure, it's easy for people to shout that it was terrorism or a hate crime, or done by hateful people, but that isn't an explanation. It might be true, but it's not an explanation, it's blatant ignorance which the world can no longer afford. This film could have benefited so much from shedding some light on the bombers motivation!!! To be honest, they were actually the one part that let this film down, Their storyline was wasted on surface level personality development and retracing of their steps throughout the event. Instead, the film should have used that time to instead show their motivation to commit the acts. This would have deepened their storyline and given the movie as a whole, a much richer and more stimulating story. In saying that, Themo Melikidze did a great job of making a believable character out of the little depth he was given.

All in all this was a good film, however, it does lack the depth and backbone necessary for a second viewing.

Various people's lives cross path in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and its following manhunt. It is directed by Peter Berg and starring Boston native Mark Wahlberg.

Originally, I feared Mark Wahlberg. He's not the greatest of actors although my bigger fear is that they would make the movie about him. That partly happened. Honestly, I cringed when he started yelling at Kevin Bacon and I rolled my eyes when he showed up to interview the Chinese guy. By placing him in the center of every aspect of the investigation, the movie loses a sense of reality. There is no need for him to be at every aspect of the manhunt. I do love the walk-thru with the security cameras. Otherwise, his role should be cut in half. This shouldn't be a vehicle for Mark.

On the other hand, I am overjoyed with the other people's stories. I love the Chinese guy and MIT security guy. This could cut back Wahlberg mugging for the cameras and add work from the other cops. Give me more J.K. Simmons. This movie should not be an one-man story if it purports to show the events in its entirety.