Patriots Day follows the Tragedy that struck on April 15, 2013, when two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon. Following the events leading up to and after the attack, the movie tells the story of police Sgt. Tommy Saunders played by Mark Wahlberg, FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers played by Kevin Bacon and Commissioner Ed Davis played by John Goodman join courageous survivors, first responders and other investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the suspects and bring them to justice.

Patriots Day is a hard movie to watch as the events that transpired are extremely sad, but I think this movie was necessary as it shows how the police force fought back with love instead of hate. The movie made me tear up a couple times as well. The question before the release of the movie was “is it too soon” as it happened only 3 years ago. I think it is just at the right time with all of the things that have been happening recently especially in Europe. The scene where the bombing is polarizing as it is brutal and terrifying, but is very well done as the way the movie is shot doesn’t glorify the violence. I think Mark Wahlberg gives a terrific performance and if I had to choose a movie for him to be nominated for, I would choose Patriots Day over Deepwater Horizon. I appreciated that Wahlberg wasn’t the center of the movie and that it showed police officers, victims, and civilians going through the situation. Alex Wolff and Themo Melikidze who play the Tsarnaev brothers or the bombers were also good and gave dimensions to the people we should hate. Jimmy O. Yang who plays Dun Meng, a man who the Tsarnaev brothers carjacked and held hostage, was also very good as he played the unlikely hero that led the police to apprehend one brother and kill another. This is also Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg’s third collaboration, telling true stories. I think the movie was directed and shot well. All the performances were well done.

I think Patriot’s Day is a must see and its something that is relevant to recent problems. I will say that I wouldn’t put this movie on just because like I’ve said before, it is a very hard movie to watch, but I give Patriots Day a solid 10/10.