Review of Patriots Day (2016) by Axet — 26 Dec 2016

Serious incredibly harrowing recent true story blown by horribly shot handheld crap techniques and is also piss poorly cut for the most part. The filmmakers will try to claim this awful style is more realistic and puts you into the story which could not be more of a ridiculous fallacy. Why simulate a poorly shot documentary in a narrative feature, especially a substantially budgeted Hollywood motion picture? It has the exact opposite effect on an audience who is much better off watching Dateline, 48 Hours, or YouTube than sitting through this. The hack director is to blame of course. He has no visual sense, lousy aesthetic taste, no understanding of cinema beyond the surface, and no true care or insight into audience psychology. Dopey approving youths who don't care or know any better make for an unsophisticated audience. He may be just swell to work with and run a set on schedule and budget, which certainly not everyone can do, but plenty in Hollywood can just fine and with way better results! Also the stars who stupidly, blindly go along in their blanket trust instead of saying "hold on, I'm not okay appearing in that cheap gimmicky style" are also every bit to blame and prove themselves typically oblivious. As it is, some of the dialogue and how it's delivered is laughably phony.

This movie has so many time/setting sub-titles it nearly becomes spoof. And no disrespect to the actual victims and responders to the terrorist evil, but the epilogue of them actually talking on camera is so out of place and goes on so long it completely negates the attempted spell that just transpired. It's yet another dumb trend in movies based on true stories, but rarely has it been so botched and misconceived as here by the hacks behind the scenes. Even so, the subject and certain scenes are so compelling the rating here is an accurate overall impression.

The jackass sheep critics may follow the flock and go for this because they routinely fall for subject matter when they should be criticizing the artifice itself.