Patriots Day

It was obvious from the title what I was in for, so I can't really complain. I surprised myself by giving such a high rating, but a few things amused me so much that I just couldn’t help myself. I definitely don't approve of bombings, as I think it's beyond cowardly. On the other hand, I didn't approve of the humanitarian bombing of the former Yugoslavia so that Hashim Thaci could have his little drug state, so I didn't cry over the poor Americans being slaughtered. What I found hilarious were the skills of the American security forces, who couldn’t even find a common radio frequency. It was almost necessary to deploy the Navy to eliminate two Chechens with pressure cookers. The Americans are just not very good at internal security, their strength is mainly in strategic bombing and cruise missiles, and they have no training in pressure cookers. As a long-time cynic, it immediately occurred to me that Boston might not be the best outlet for Dr. Scholl... (2017-08-21)

A well-grasped narrative style. The main characters are introduced while explaining the concept of the plot twist, the key event of the bombing and the gradually tightening noose. Something similar worked very well in Zero Dark Thirty, with the difference that it was better balanced dramaturgically. Patriots Day has a lot of pathetic dross in the form of testimony from actual witnesses to the event and various pieces of wisdom from the main characters that are not very on point, and when they are, they are just clumsily handled. If you overlook this shortcoming and the fact that it steals a good 10-20 minutes from the film, you can't help but marvel at Berg's grasp of action and the dynamics of the action sequences, because the shootout in the streets is frenetic, volatile and yet incredibly raw and clear – and it’s also the scene after which the end credits should have rolled. If he could work with characters and the build-up of the story like Michael Mann, we'd all be whistling because it would be a full-on hit. (2017-03-21)

With this film, Peter Berg utilized his previous experience and managed to translate it onto the big screen without any significant mistakes. For me, Berg belongs to the top tier of directors, and I simply won’t hear a bad word about him. This time he chose a well-known event that undoubtedly shook the world for some time in 2013. He didn’t pick an easy topic to direct, but he handled it admirably. The cast is incredibly strong, each name a notable figure in the film industry. Although the pace was slow at the beginning, after the explosions, it accelerated to high gear and didn’t stop. The combination of film and documentary inserts might seem poor to some for this kind of movie, but Berg knows what he’s doing, and as a viewer, it grabbed my attention even more. The camera work and music perfectly follow his style, as if I were watching The Kingdom again. The best moment was the nearly ten-minute-long sequence of continuous gunfire in Watertown, combined with spectacular bomb explosions. I haven’t seen such a raw, authentic-looking, and even goosebump-inducing shootout in a long time. You can clearly see years of practice here because coordinating the filming of something like this is no simple task, especially with such a great final result. There was definitely a resemblance to Mann’s Heat. The ending, with the real people who lived through this event, squeezed out a lot of emotion, but if it hadn’t been there, I would have been upset. We’ll see what Berg brings us in the coming years. This director has a bright future ahead of him, so I think we have a lot to look forward to. I give it 92%. (2017-03-28)

Peter Berg's reputation with me has recovered a bit after the recent not very satisfying Deepwater Horizon, but Patriots Day still falls short of the pinnacle of his work. While it is a rather sensitive subject, I still find it odd to make a film about a terrorist attack where only three people died when there are far greater disasters happening in the world. But about the film: The pacing is good, the big shootout is stylish, the filming is solid, and Mark Wahlberg is classically fine again, so I'll give four stars for entertainment. 70% (2017-02-07)

After the tranquil introduction leading to the explosion, Patriots Day escalates in an exciting hunt for the bombers and, conversely, their attempt to get away. I don’t want to exaggerate, but I don’t think we’ve seen such an engaging, authentic street shootout since Michael Mann’s Heat. Berg recreates the events by mixing real documentary shots with a thriller movie, and whether he embellishes the story or not, the result looks great. It’s perfectly balanced in terms of character portrayal, narrative dynamics and the tolerability of the patriotic elements. At some moments, I was riveted to my seat. (2017-01-27)