(SPOILER WARNING!!! This article does contain spoilers, if you haven’t seen the movie, just see the first paragraph to be informed without spoilers!!!)

Patriots Day is a good cop thriller even though the manhunt dragged a bit, but for me, it did give me a sense of pride on how good people can really be in a time of need!!!

Rating: 4 Stars

This film was definitely in my top five of the most anticipated movies to watch in 2016. Mainly because it deals with a scary event in my city where I was actually living when it happened. I just remember getting a call from my youngest brother, Jason, telling me that bombs blew up at the Boston Marathon finish line, where he was literally blocks where it happened. Thank God, that he made it out safely, and same with my mom and cousin who worked around that area as well. I remember the manhunt for the bomber and how they shut down the city to find this guy, and when they did, how much pride my city of Boston  showed where they united together to become stronger then ever after a tragedy. So when I heard they were making a movie on this event, and starred the great Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark), I was immediately in. I knew he could bring the authenticity of the attitude of that city when these events happened, and it would be entertaining. I was right for the most part.

What I Like: I thought director Peter Berg made created this movie very well. He showed the beauty that the city of Boston had to offer, and brought the authenticity of the people there. I enjoyed how he mixed the movie with real life footage and filmed footage which made it real. What I really enjoyed most was the thrilling scenes he brought into it. Showing the bombings that happened, and the aftermath of the tragic event. How the police and first responders did their job in helping everybody hurt during the bombing. From the carjacking, to the shootout between the bombers and the police really had me at the edge of my seat even though I knew how it all ended up. I also enjoyed seeing the disputes between the Boston Police Officers and the FBI in trying to find the bombers which shows how much work and problems it went through between the bombings and catching the bomber. I thought the great Mark Wahlberg playing Sergeant Tommy Saunders did an excellent job, and really showed some true dramatic acting in this role. I also liked that they filmed this movie in my neck of the woods of Malden, and it was fun seeing all the landmarks I know very well in this movie. There were parts where I did get emotional, especially seeing the victims reunite with their families almost put a tear into my eye.

The So So: In the end, they interviewed the real people who experienced everything which was great to hear, but it had me questioning myself for a bit. The question was am I watching a movie or a documentary. I thought the ending really felt more like a documentary, and really not that appropriate for the movie. It should’ve ended right after the David Ortiz speech, and it would’ve been perfect in my book. With that said, the parts that did remind me of a documentary was still emotional and a feel good story.

What I Didn’t Like: The whole manhunt for the bomber really dragged, and it almost got me saying to hurry up and get to the point. A lot of unnecessary dialogue really made it longer than it should be. I also felt that it had a lot of missed opportunities to make this film more effective. Like when they apprehended one of the bomber’s wife, why were her citizen’s rights revoked. They just mentioned it, and moved on like it was ok. Also, there were some loopholes with the character development like why Sergeant Saunders was suspended from his detective duties and demoted to security? Or why Watertown’s police sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese, played by J. K. Simmons, was a stoner smoking on the job. I thought that gave him more of a bad look, than a heroic look. Lastly, Michael Beach, played Massachusetts Governer Deval Patrick. He may have looked the part, but he definitely didn’t sound like him whatsoever. Any true person from Massachusetts would know that from a mile away. At least they got Mayor Tom Menino pretty well.

Overall: It may have lagged at times, but it is a good and thrilling movie that had a good taste of violence from the bombings and storytelling of everything that happened during that scary time. I knew that it would either get me emotional or give me a sense of pride, and in the end, it did reinvigorated a sense of pride in me of how my city handled the tragedy. Best of all, it showed how when disaster strikes from evil, it showed how the goodness of people working hard to help the victims as much as they can. For that it gave me a sense of pride that we are good people in a tough minded city. For that I will keep on saying with pride, “Boston Strong!!!”

Rating: 4 Stars

(Sidenote: The Purge: Election Year- So another movie came out about all crimes being legal for 12 hours, and how some people barely make it out alive. Only this time they try to involve politics and some ethics during the whole Purge event. The story started off intriguing, but in the end, it was the same old stuff of people running around the city dodging crazy people trying to kill them. It is starting to get old for me, and the way it looks, this is the final chapter for this series. At least I hope it is!!!
Rating: 2.5 Stars)