Traque à Boston

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.

I saw this movie at a preview showing and was very pleasantly surprised.

The movie is great, the cast are uniformly excellent, and the plot moves along really nicely. I was mesmerized throughout, the pacing was excellent and, even though we all remember the outcome from the extensive news coverage, I was surprised at some of the things that happened before the end.

It was surprisingly moving at a few points, sorry, no spoilers so I won't say any more.

Great job to everyone who worked on this movie.

People are captivated by the extraordinary events. And people love to be entertained. So what could possibly be better than a dramatic story of extraordinary nature. Especially if it's based on real events, shows the heroism of simple people and touches the audience's sensitive patriotic spot.

That's basically a recipe for Patriots Day. Take the case of the Boston Marathon bombing, the largest terrorist attack in the US since 9/11, show it through the eyes of several regular people, first introducing their personal lives and then following them along the course of the main events. And finally, when it's all over, add some first-person moral lessons and conclusions, so that we all realize for sure how important and pivotal that event was for the people and for the world, and feel privy to its changing momentum.

All by itself, it's a pretty good, even noble approach. But there's a tiny little detail that changes everything: that all that must sell somehow, because even the extraordinary stories have to be entertaining. So the otherwise consistent and self-sufficient story is being infused with dramatization, laying it on even thicker where it's already been thick, and creating moments that might not have been there in the first place simply to make the story more of a thriller. A very similar thing happened just recently with Deepwater Horizon.

The result becomes a product with the typical Hollywood spin, but proudly called "based on real events". That it might be, but on the basis of real people's actions, beliefs and lives there has been put enough creative imagination for the film to feel at times fake, at times cheesy and at times way over the top. And we will never know for sure if some or other moments that touched each of us personally happened for real, or they were skillfully injected by the filmmakers to genetically modify the movie and make it more appealing to the audience. Having fallen for this trick before, I refuse to be bought so cheaply again. So I really wish movies such as Patriots Day were made as documentaries. Yes, maybe they wouldn't sell as much, but at least they would be sincere and true. And what if not truth and sincerity do such stories try to uphold?

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

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.