Patriots Day is a 2016 American Drama based upon the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing. The film itself is an adaption from the book "Boston Strong", which was written by Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge. 

Patriots Day was one of three films in production about the Boston Marathon Bombing at the time, but later Patriots Day and one of the other films, "Boston Strong" were merged into one film to create the present day "Patriots Day". The other film in production is slated for release in late 2017. 

Casey Sherman also authored "The Finest Hours" which was later turned into a film.  

Patriots Day has an all star cast headlined by Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, and Kevin Bacon.

Main Cast:

Mark Wahlberg

John Goodman

J. K. Simmons

Vincent Curatola

Michelle Monaghan

Kevin Bacon

Alex Wolff

Themo Melikidze

Plot:

The film is based on the Boston Marathon Bombing mostly from the point of view of Boston PD Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg), and the subsequent manhunt of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev (the bombing suspects). 

The film starts out by introducing us to many of the victims involved. It shows the kids and families that were there participating in the marathon as well as the unsuspecting bystanders that were there viewing the marathon, and cheering on their friends and family. 

They are introduced hours before the bombing is to take place. Helping the viewers really sympathize with the victims and see how truly terrible it was for all of them.

Next we are introduced to Tommy Saunders (Wahlberg). We learn a little about his life leading up to the bombing and the heroic actions he did that helped save many lives. 

Then we are introduced to Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the two brothers reportedly responsible for the bombing. We learn a little about their past and a little about why they are the way they are, and why they plan on doing what they are about to do. 

A few moments later the race is underway and again we are seeing things through the eyes of Saunders. A few hours go by and then out of no where explosions go off. Surprising everyone. What ensues is panic and chaos as the police try to help the wounded as well as try to find out what exactly just happened...

I won't go into any more details of the plot here. If you want to find out what happens you will just have to rent the flick. :)

Reception:

The film has received mostly positive reviews from critics and general audiences alike. 

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an 80% approval rating, with it's critical consensus reading:

"Patriots Day offers a stirring, solidly crafted tribute to the heroes of a real-life American tragedy without straying into exploitative action thriller territory."

IMDB rates the film as 7.4/10 while Metacritic gives the film a 69 out of 100 rating. The National Board of Review chose Patriots Day as one of the top ten films of 2016.

Financially the film has not done very well. With a production budget of $45 million, the film has only grossed $44 million to date. A surprising number considering the quality of the film. 

I imagine that as this film makes it's way through the different streaming and rental outlets, those sales numbers will improve quite a bit.

My Review:

I thought the film was very well done. It has an all star cast and it replays the events leading up to and following that fateful event in our nation's history very well without sensationalizing them too much. In fact, there were several times in the film where I caught myself thinking I was watching a documentary as opposed to a Hollywood blockbuster. 

The lead character was fictional as well as some of the others in the film, but the story stuck to the reported facts very well. 

I for one didn't realize all the details of the Boston Marathon bombing before watching this film, and this film did a great job of educating me on them. After the movie was over I read up on the event to see how much of it was real, and most of it was. 

The film itself was very entertaining. It had a good backstory as well as plenty of action. It did a good job of not being too much of a drama and also not cheapening the film by making it too much of an action flick. 

Overall I would give this film a 9/10 rating.

It is one of those films that is so sad you won't really want to watch it more than once but it is such an interesting story and so well done that everyone should watch it at least once. In my opinion it is one of the 10 best films of 2016. 

It's at Redbox right now and worth the rent if you get the chance. 

It's sad that things like this happen all over the world. Sometimes we as people tend to put our heads down and forget how terrible things like this are happening to people all over the world. We get so caught up in our own lives that we miss the bigger picture sometimes. Things like this film are a great reminder how fragile and precious life is and how the many are so much stronger than the few that want to do them harm.

Hope you enjoy the film.

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriots_Day_(film)

Image Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4572514/mediaindex?ref_=tt_ov_mi_sm

Follow me: @jrcornel