Patriots Day

The world can be a wonderful place, but sometimes we are faced with an awful truth, that no one want to be a part of. I am especially thinking about all the tragedies that struck us all, where terrorism can shatter lives in just seconds, for no reason at all. They might think there is a reason to do what they do, but they don´t see all the destruction, and all the pain they cause. Terrorism is never ok, no matter where they opperate in this world. No matter what terrorist organisation they are a part of, i can´t see a reason why they need to kill innocent people. We have had a lot of films based on different terrorist attacks. One film i am thinking about at this moment, is the 2012 film called Zero Dark Thirty, based on the hunt on Osama Bin Laden. Directed by Katheryn Bigelow ( who have directed several great films, such as The Hurt Locker ), she managed to tell the story behind this operation in a very effective way. Lead actor Jessica Chastain did a really powerful performance as the CIA intelligence analyst Maya.  If you have not seen this film for some reason, watch it on rental, or on a streaming site. One of my personal favourite films about terrorism, is Michael Moore´s classic documentary film Farenheit 9/11 from 2004. A very interesting documentary film, about the terror attack on New York city, and also about George Bush, all mixed up in a fascinating story. Director Michael Moore clearly made a lot of good points in this film, especially about how George Bush handled the situation over 9/11. America have always been involved, when it comes to hunting down terrorists and dictators. But what if a terrorist attack happens on a day, when no one expects anything, during a marathon race ? This is what happened in 15th of April in 2003. Two suspects seemed to carry backpacks, where 2 bombs went off in public. That day destroyed the lives of many people, who lost their loved ones. Some survived, but was badly injured. The hunt after the terrorists became big in the city of Boston. The two brothers who were arrested, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, killed police officers and wounded some, including kidnapping a civilian. We now have a film, based on these true events, from director Beter Berg. Some of you might remember him from the cult film Very Bad Things, or perhaps for his work as an director of several films. Patriots Day is the third collaboration between Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg. Is this a really emotionally hard film to watch, or should this project have been offered to another director ?

Boston Police Department Sergeant Tommy Saunders ( Mark Wahlberg ) is asked to patrol during the Boston Marathon Day. Everything seems alright, people enjoying the marathon race, until 2 explosions go off. Chaos breaks out, and Tommy does all he can to help. Commissioner Ed Davis ( John Goodman ) with his team, including FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers ( Kevin Bacon ) all work together, to make sure they find the right suspects. Sergeant Tommy suggest they need to ask the public for help, or they might loose witnesses. A hunt has just begun, and no matter what happens, justice must be done.

To see director Peter Berg and actor Mark Wahlberg work together again, is a pure delight. They have done a really good job with their previous films Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon. Patriots Day is of course a bit different from director Peter Berg´s films, especially because this is based on a terrorist attack in Boston. For those of you who listened to the news back in 2013, remember the horrible pictures, where so many people were wounded, even killed. When you see a film like Patriots Day, and you know this actually happened in real life, it is very hard not to feel sadness. Especially for all the victims, and their families. Director Peter Berg have done a really good job with this film, trying to capture the feeling of what actually happened. The characters feel realistic, and the decisions they make during the chaos, after the bombs went off. Mark Wahlberg as the Sergeant Tommy Saunders, is clearly a very interesting portrait, of a man who witnessed the bombings. How do you deal with this, while still being professional ? Can you really leave work without bringing it home, when you have images in your mind of dead children ? Wahlberg does another really good performance, as he usually always does. He is that kind of actor who can do all kinds of genres, and handle it with grace. But we also have other really good performances here. John Goodman as Police Commissioner Ed Davis. He proves once again why he is one of the old school actors, who can take on any character and deliver with power. Kevin Bacon is also here as Special Agent Richard DesLauriers. We don´t need to question if he is any good, he always is in every film he does. The best thing about these films, where Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg work together, is that they have so far only delivered quality films. Who would have thought that Lone Survivor would be good, coming out in January of 2013 ( the month were almost all film companies release bad films, except for some exceptions ) ? You can clearly tell that they enjoy working together, and also have some really important stories to share. Patriots Day is a very strong thriller, were we get to see what happened, both before the bombs went off, but also after the tragedy. Did everyone do this manhunt right ? Is there another truth behind what happened ? Did the evidence tell something else ? There are a lot of questions to think about throughout the film. But one thing is clear, no matter when civil people are killed, or harmed, you can´t accept this. Director Peter Berg seems to have digged into the story, in a realistic way, both from police perspective, as well as everyone else involved in the investigation. How much is the truth ? I would say that director Peter Berg have tried to tell the story, as realistic as he can. There is no doubt, Patriots Day is one hell of a good thriller, and this could possibly be the best film from the three films that director Peter Berg have done with Mark Wahlberg. A very powerful, and emotional film, that reminds us that we need to stay united in critical times.

Rating: DDDD