I was hesitant to see this film because most of the events are so fresh in my mind. Fresh is a little overstated because what was going on was broadcast kind of haphazardly in a disrupted time frame. Looking back, I've seen a chronology of the events, but at the time I wasn't sure that, beyond the actual bombing, we were privy to the sequence of events. This movie, for me, did a wonderful job of setting up the events leading to the explosions. I'm not talking about Walberg's mega-character, but the brothers and their plotting. Once all hell breaks loose, there are two focuses. I was pleased that they held back on the carnage. What view we had was enough for a viewer. We all know from the facts that it was even worse than that presented. Next, we have the arrival of the FBI to take over the project. While I accept Walberg's guy as a composite character, I was curious if there were guys in the big warehouse pushing at the Feds. I don't know. Perhaps there were. I was also curious how much Hollywood was involved in Tamerlan's death. I've never heard more than a rudimentary explanation that he was killed in a serious shootout. Was it correctly presented with all the explosions and pyrotechnics? I now I'm sounding a bit nit- picky. I have great admiration for the people who were there (the Godmother of one of my children finished the race earlier). The efforts to catch these guys was Herculean. But how much did they add to an already remarkable story? Oh, and did some survivalist type with a big rifle joint the SWAT team on the roof for the final capture. She is an unknown with a rifle. Really? I thought that was such a lame effort at humor in an incredibly tense situation. Still, I would recommend this film for it's portrayal of a dark time in our history.

Peter Berg brings an account of the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013. Three people died over 200 were injured as two bombs went off near the finish line. Bombs placed by the Tsarnaev brothers who were of Chechen origin.

Once the bombs go off, Patriots Day becomes a procedural thriller. It focuses on the down on his luck with a bad leg, fictional hero Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg.)

As the film progresses the most interesting and intriguing character is Special Agent Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon) the FBI agent in charge of the investigation. Berg deserves credit for having a nuanced portrayal of the FBI in this film. It is just a shame that DesLauriers is relegated to the background. It would had been a different film with him as the lead but a better one.

Some of the characters appear who seemed to be unrelated to the movie's narrative until much later on. An example is the Chinese student Dun Meng who has a frightening encounter with the brothers late at night or Sergeant Jeffrey Pugliese (J K Simmons) the cop in Watertown.

The film is uncertain about its treatment of the Tsarnaev brothers. Were they hardened criminals, committed terrorists or just two idiots who could not even get the right type of milk for a baby? At times the brothers appeared to be dim, glad that they were driving a Mercedes.

The heroes of Patriot's Day are the people of Boston and the victims. However there is something both glib and empty about this movie using a real life tragedy for a commercial thriller so soon after the events.

Start to finish it keeps you going right up to the end