Too soon? Money grabber? These are two fair questions about the timing of Peter Berg’s (Deepwater Horizon, Lone Survivor) 2016 Patriots Day. The movie is based on the April 15, 2013, Boston City Marathon bombing, killing three people and wounded hundreds of others. It might seem like it’s too soon for a movie studio to be capitalizing on the tragic events of that day. For many, the event is still fresh in their minds. When I saw the trailer for this movie for the first time, I tended to agree. But after seeing this movie, I have changed my mind and instead will go with the mindset that if you’re going to make a movie out of a tragic event such as the Boston City Marathon bombing, you better get it right. And I’ll be the first to say that Berg and all those associated with this movie did, in fact, get this right. It was a respectful movie that looked at the incident from a variety of angles. And while I have not researched fact versus fiction yet, I will give Patriots Day the benefit of the doubt and say that it checked its facts before production. I know that the lead character Seargent Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg – The Fighter, Daddy’s Home), is not an actual character but is a composite of various officers in the Boston Police Department. I’m lukewarm on whether I like this or not. I like this idea. As you watch this film, you’ll quickly learn that Tommy has to be fictional because there is just no way one person can be in every single important situation in the film. It makes Tommy out to be a singular hero. I understand the Hollywood aspect, but I also understand paying homage to a true story. I think I would have preferred each character of the Boston Police department to be more accurately portrayed. Still, with an abundance of characters, I could see how that could take away from the effective storytelling of the film.
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