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... (08/20/2017)

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. (01/26/2017)

The scenes of the Boston Marathon blast are really powerful in themselves and the subsequent chase with the terrorists works excellently, primarily the shootout in Watertown is polished and clearly true to life as much as was at all possible. It was maybe unnecessarily too full of pathos and characters (in some places the movie loses momentum terribly). Berg is good at realistic reconstructions, but the mass of authentic shots detracted a little from the power of the picture. There isn’t much shine to Reznor’s soundtrack this time round. (01/14/2018)

The narrative is without major mistakes and hesitations, but for the one hundred and ninety-fourth time the stale concept of a racist hunt for terrorists, starring an iconic, flamboyant and morally immaculate hero (we're talking about Wahlberg, Goodman needs to lose some weight and J.K. Simmons needs to gain some) just can't satisfy me anymore, even as a fan of old Hollywood conventions. Moreover, it's as long as a list of government debts, and the pacing fluctuates between many characters who, though played by top-notch actors, aren't very convincingly portrayed. Berg is definitely up for something bigger, at least in terms of physical rush, which you can see here, for example, in the very intense and realistic street shootout. 60% (04/15/2017)

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. (03/20/2017)