Review of Patriots Day (2016) by Mitchell M — 29 Apr 2017

Normally, I'm reluctant to watch blockbuster films regarding internationally-known, real-life (and often tragic) events when those films are released a relatively short time after said event occurred.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (released 3 years after the events in Libya) and World Trade Center (released 4 years after 9/11) and Zero Dark Thirty (released 1 year after the death of Bin Laden) are a few examples that I can think of.

For some reason I can't help but feel as if their purpose is to feed on still-fresh emotions and make as much money as possible...not to inform the general public or to honorably remember the lives that were lost.

With that said...had I not watched this movie for those reasons, I would've have been greatly mistaken. Without over-dramatising, without glossing over facts, and without giving us 'stereotypically middle eastern terrorists', this film awakens our fears as Americans, keeps us glued to the action as Bostonian justice-seekers and gives us researchably-accurate closure.

Tastefully done and easily suggestible.