THE INSIDE STORY OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST MANHUNT.Ā
When two bombs go off during the 2013 Boston Marathon, the whole city (including Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg)) become involved in the hunt for the terrorists, two brothers. The third time Peter Berg and Wahlberg collaborate on a reality-based drama about Men Surviving a Crisis (after Lone Survivor and Deepwater Horizon) begins with the same flag-waving, idealized sentiments, but soon becomes more gripping. The bombing is well staged and looks harrowing, and the incredibly dramatic manhunt that follows has us on the edge of our seats, especially during the battle in Watertown. The film ends with touching and inspiring footage of the victims today.
2016-U.S. 133 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced byĀ Dorothy Aufiero, Dylan Clark, Stephen Levinson, Hutch Parker, Michael Radutzky, Scott Stuber, Mark Wahlberg. Directed byĀ Peter Berg. Screenplay: Peter Berg, Matt Cook, Joshua Zetumer. Book: Casey Sherman, Dave Wedge (āBoston Strongā). Cast: Mark Wahlberg (Tommy Saunders), Michelle Monaghan (Carol Saunders), Kevin Bacon (Richard DesLauriers), Alex Wolff, Themo Melikidze, John Goodmanā¦ J.K. Simmons.
Last word: “There were two things working in our favor. First was Mark, bringing me into the community and introducing me to so many of the people who were affected. The victims and their families, the survivors, the police. It made the actual practical telling of the story so important, the who did what, and where. In doing that, we talked a lot about lines of taste and decorum. We would work very hard to not cross that line. You canāt always articulate what that line is, but you know when you cross it. That was a big responsibility we had to work with. The other issue, and the reason we really wanted to make the film, was we didnāt want to see an action movie. This was not a Jason Bourne-type film. This had to be about something else.” (Berg, Deadline)