Patriots Day is a no-frills, to-the-point recounting of the bombing of the 2013 Boston Marathon, its aftermath and the city-wide hunt for the two men responsible.
It’s certainly harrowing viewing early on as director Peter Berg takes us into the midst of the confusion immediately after the bomb blasts. From there it evolves into something of a templated manhunt with Berg focussing on the with-attitude detective, Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg). It’s a solid enough performance but the result is an off-kilter one man manhunt rather than the coordinated teamwork across several agencies.
Rating: 54%
Director: Peter Berg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor)
Writer: Peter Berg (Lone Survivor, Friday Night Lights), Matt Cook (The Duel, Triple 9), Joshua Zetumer (RoboCop)
Main cast: Mark Wahlberg (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor), Michelle Monaghan (Gone Baby Gone, Source Code), Kevin Bacon (Mystic River, Black Mass)
An Opinion or Two 