Marathon: The Patriot's Day Bombing
  • Network: HBO
  • Series Premiere Date: Nov 21, 2016
Metascore
82

Universal acclaim - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7

Critic Reviews

  1. Boston Herald
    Reviewed by: Mark A. Perigard
    Nov 21, 2016
    91
    A superb, bracing look at the terrorist attack on Boston and its aftermath.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    Nov 21, 2016
    90
    A very human, very moving documentary by Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg.
  3. Yahoo TV
    Reviewed by: Ken Tucker
    Nov 21, 2016
    90
    A tremendously moving documentary.
  5. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Neil Genzlinger
    Nov 21, 2016
    80
    As with all of the best examples of this genre--this film was not made to provide a feel-good moment that enables us to go back to forgetting about the bombing and those most affected by it. It was made to remind us that recovery is far harder and more complex than we realize.
  6. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Hank Stuever
    Nov 21, 2016
    80
    Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s moving HBO documentary Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing, produced with help from the Boston Globe, can be viewed as a thoughtful study of the lessons of magnitude.
  7. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Peter Keough
    Nov 21, 2016
    75
    [An] restrained, eloquent, and artfully composed documentary.
  8. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Nov 21, 2016
    70
    These are stories that move at different paces, so cutting back and forth between a rehabilitation two years on and the terrifying and unsettling nights immediately after the bombing can be chronologically dissonant, as well as emotionally jarring.

Awards & Rankings

33
#33 Best TV Season of 2016

User Reviews

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User Score
6.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 3 out of 12
  1. Jcondic
    Nov 28, 2016
    8
    It is so easy for a documentary like this to become manipulative, but the directors Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern showed the subject matter aIt is so easy for a documentary like this to become manipulative, but the directors Anne Sundberg and Ricki Stern showed the subject matter a great deal of respect and restraint. I didn’t expect the emotional rollercoaster that I went through watching this film. Each person’s story has its own arc and they’re all able to come together to where it all started, before the blast. they’ve been through hell, but their spirit and will power isn’t going to let terror win.… Full Review »
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