Brief synopsis
Mark Wahlberg, AKA Marky Mark, AKA that guy who played the supporting role in that film about the teddy bear, plays a Boston police officer during the Boston marathon bombing. As we all know, he is the only actor who can do a Boston accent, so I assume that's why he got the role.
Trailer
First, a note
Tackling the Boston marathon bombing so soon after it happened is either a bold move, or a blatant cash in on human tragedy. Either way, it is a bold move. I was actually quite worried going into this film that they would not show the full extent of the bombings, but they did. Multiple limbs were removed without consent, and there was a lot of screaming.
My second worry was that it would be another one of those American films. The kind of film where emotional music plays throughout, and there is a lot of flag waving involved. I'll go into this more in the Mediocre section.
The Good
Marky Mark is actually pretty good in this. He doesn't go over the top, or go total stone face, he managed to find the right tone and he does a lot more good than bad in the grand scheme of things. He also isn't portrayed as some kind of supercop, which is a nice change in these kinds of films.
John Goodman is in it.
Directing is pretty good. They actually got real footage of the crowd and the bombers, and used it just right. It didn't feel forced, and it fit in very well. The bombing scene itself is probably the best scene in the film, due to the accuracy of it. The confusion, hysteria and chaos are almost reminiscent of the landing scene in Saving Private Ryan.
The pacing is on point. It doesn't feel rushed, and it doesn't feel like it's dragging along at any point. This is particularly impressive as the film is constantly juggling a large group of characters who at some point or another will have something to do with the bombings or the aftermath.
The corniness that is usually present at the end of these films was avoided, by having the actual victims of the bombings be at the end of the film. Showing the real life effects instead of creating a semi-fictional one was a good choice.
The Mediocre
The beginning of the film leading up to the bombings is very... 'Murica. They have that emotional music thing going on and they're showing you all the people who are about to be involved in this terrible event, but it is completely unnecessary. If they just showed people having a regular morning, with no background music whatsoever, it would have had a much more profound effect. It has only been a few years, people still remember what happened. It does have to be said however, that the film does make good use of minimal music and silence at certain points.
Similarly, the shootout scenes get a little bit 'Murica too. It turns into an action film for a short while, which kind of subtracts from the impact and the harsh reality of the subject matter. Yes, there should be a little bit of action in it, because the shootouts did happen, but not to the extent portrayed in the film, it was a clear case of them trying to inject some excitement into it, which isn't appropriate.
The Bad
Kevin Bacon is in it.
There are a couple of bad/plain wrong things that happen in the film regarding technology. Kevin Bacon's character is involved in all of them. Fuck Kevin Bacon. I hate his smug weasel face.
At no point in the entire film is the phrase "we did it Reddit" mentioned.
Honestly there aren't that many bad points. Mainly just a lack of good ones in certain areas.
Rating
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
PMYA's Rating: 74%
It was alright. It is a very difficult subject matter and they did well not to screw it up completely.
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