Here it is the one very American film of the year, the one film that is red white and blue all over. Last year it was the new Independence Day but this year it’s Patriots Day. However, unlike Independence Day, Patriots Day is the spirited and emotionally joined together America that you don’t get to see too often. Set around the Boston Marathon bombings Mark Wahlberg, acting hero of Boston, plays a cop who is stationed near where the bombs went off and helps lead the chase for the suspects. Going into the film I thought that it could easily be too American and be too patriotic, sometimes films like this can be very American with their dialogue and end up losing most audiences that arent American. Patriots Day doesn’t go down that road though and the characters feel like everyday people. This is also aided by the half film half documentary look to the film that makes you feel like you’re actually watching the events unfold. The destruction the bombs cause in the film isn’t played over the top and it is true to everything that happened, doesn’t use the bombs to gain anymore emotional footing then they already have but instead rely on characters that are filled with empathy and moral choices of what to do. With all this in mind the last third of the film is the best and that’s when the film ironically becomes patriotic. There is one line that changes the film as it starts to close on the suspect, don’t need to tell you it because it’ll be extremely obvious. This one line relaxes the build up and sets in place the realistic, not over the top, acting for the last third. Patriots Day could’ve easily been a whole season of Homeland, it could’ve been any kind of mini series, but we have this film instead and I am pleasantly surprised with the treatment that they have done. It’s bad to say it’s a nice story because what happened isn’t nice but covering some of the people who got hurt the most and some of the personal stories that came out of the bombings is nice and heartwarming that you now know that they are doing well and fighting for everyone. Patriots Day stands tall, in terms of biopics, and this devastating event that hurt so many people is shown not from an evil perspective but instead a film that shows how strong a city can be, especially the city of Boston, against those that threaten everyones well-being.
Expectation Level: Medium, abit of awards buzz mixed with what could be just an over the top American film.
Expectations Achieved: It is patriotic but in a good way that doesn’t distract you.
Score: 4/5 – Patriots day is patriotic but it is also heart warming and shows you the strength of a close community. The film could’ve been over the top but it is instead filled with human stories that you might not of heard of if you lived outside of Boston. It’s a film that explores it’s people more than stopping the bad guys, even though they are the main plot.