Recently, I had the chance to view Patriots Day at the Boston AMC. Although the film isn’t supposed to hit theaters nationally until January 13th, it is now showing in Boston and other limited theaters.

This movie has an all-star cast, with Mark Wahlberg playing fictional character Officer Tommy Saunders, J.K. Simmons as Watertown Police Sergeant Jefferey Pugliese, John Goodman as former Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis, and Kevin Bacon who plays FBI Special Agent Richard DesLauriers. I had no doubt that it would be a well put together movie.

The film started off by giving background on some of the major characters in the movie. We learned the story of Wahlberg and his role as Saunders, and we also learned the background stories of a couple who both lost limbs from the bombings. This part of Patriot’s Day is very important to the film as a whole, as viewers have time to familiarize themselves with some of the characters.

Flash forward minutes later in the movie, and we see the explosions at the finish line. This was an extremely sad, emotional scene of the film, as viewers got an up-close view at the pandemonium that ensued. This scene, in my opinion, was the most heart-wrenching scene of the movie.

After the explosions, the film focused on a few different angles of the tragic event. Some of these angles include the organization of an FBI command center, the actions of the Boston Police Department, the aftermath in Boston, and the story of some of the victims we met at the beginning of the film. Although there was a lot going on, it was still very easy to follow.

In addition, the film also followed the actions of both Tsarnaev brothers before and after the bombings. After the bombings, the movie follows the brothers fleeing their home, heading out of Boston and killing Officer Sean Collier at M.I.T. in Cambridge. Prior to Collier’s murder, viewers were given a little bit of background on his life as an officer at M.I.T..

After the Collier murder, we also see the brothers carjack a man in Cambridge and head out toward Watertown.

From then on, the rest of the movie follows the explosive late night confrontation between the brothers and the police as well as the day long manhunt the following day to find the remaining Tsarnaev brother.

In the end, I really enjoyed Patriots Day. I thought the acting was phenomenal and I thought that the movie was historically accurate, which made it even better.

Furthermore, Wahlberg’s character, Saunders, was used very well in the movie. Saunders is a composite character, so Tommy Saunders wasn’t actually a person in the Boston Police Department. Instead, they used him as a character who represented different police officers involved in real-life tragedy.

For example, Saunders is at the finish line at the time of the explosions and also helps with the FBI investigation. This means that he represents one officer who was at the finish line and one officer who helped the FBI with their investigation. However, these are not the only two things Saunders does in the film, as Wahlberg’s character plays a big role throughout the whole film.

Overall, I would give Patriots Day a 10/10. I felt that all of the actors played their roles well and the film captured the heroics of both law enforcement officials, and the people of Boston.