If you can go past the "America rah rah" feel of the trailer, and quite possibly the whole movie, there is definite cause for interest. Look at that cast: Mark Wahlberg, John Goodman, Kevin Bacon, J.K. Simmons. From what I have been hearing this is more of a procedural film, looking for the bombers, than an actual day-of summary. I like that. Although after "Deepwater Horizon" I have a little more doubt about the final result. "Horizon" didn't delve into the big issues of the BP spill, instead focusing on action-packed mayhem. This movie should be more subtle, layered out and, maybe, hold off on the patriotism a bit, but the trailer is all about that.
Berg's films have been, just like Clint Eastwood's of late, very much attuned to the conservative part of America. Blue-collar, middle class heroes on duty, to serve and protect this great nation of ours. "American Sniper" is a perfect example. I dug that film quite a bit, but there was a whole Left vs Right debate to that film about the heroic merits of its title character. Slightly adhering to the right is, in my books, not a problem and, in fact, very welcome, but the first image we see in this trailer is of an America flag waving at half-mast right down to Katherine Lee's stirring "America the Beautiful". Not subtle at all. Keep it a little down Mr. Berg, you have the potential for a great movie here.
Earlier this week I wrote:
"The Boston Marathon bombings as directed by Peter Berg. Word of mouth says this is great, but we will have to wait and see. There are no festival showings as we speak, but this is a hard movie to fuck up. The news that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross will be scoring it brings additional street cred to the film."
If you're still not sure how the American right-wing can bump up a movie at the Box-office, look no further than these fine examples:
American Sniper $350 million
The Passion of the Christ $612 million
Juno $235 million
Lone Survivor $154 million
Black Hawk Down $172 million
Gran Torino $147 million
Sully $107 million
Deepwater Horizon (ongoing)
13 Hours: The Secrets Soldiers of Benghazi $70 million