Stronger

It's not an easy film to watch, especially because so many of Jeff's family members are themselves walking disasters. But the performances by Gyllenhaal and Maslany make the ordeal worthwhile.

Gyllenhaal has rarely been better.

With its swelling score and obligatory shots of noble, fluttering US flags, the film buys into the hero narrative wholesale.

It's one of those decent, well-acted, non-revelatory efforts destined to be filed snarkily under "this had awards buzz" through no real fault of its own.

... stealing the best bits from My Left Foot, Born on the Fourth of July and The Theory of Everything by playing a character who's not quite paralysed, but mostly in a wheelchair and delivering enormous shouty set-piece speeches ...

Stronger is at its best in its harshest moments, when it acknowledges the contradictions in its hero's story and portrays his bitterness and self-loathing as well as his courage.

For a few nerve-wracking days, the Boston terror attack shook America, yet eventually acted as a spiritual salve that showed the nation’s strength and ability to back a common cause.

It’s an incredible true story that deserves to be told and Green allows his characters to do just that.

Green delivers his most accessible film to date, and nearly every beat of the film works as intended, even if we can occasionally see our heartstrings being pulled.

Patty and Erin are pitted as opposites and uneasy adversaries throughout the movie.