13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) | Movie News & Review

13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (2016) MOVIE NEWS & REVIEW

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13 hours: the secret soldiers of benghazi (2016) movie

Genre | Action

Classification | MA 15+

Running time | 144 minutes

Released | 14 January 2016

cast

John Krazinski as Jack Silva
James Badge Dale as Tyrone Woods
Pablo Schrieber as Kris Paronto
Max Martini as Mark Geist

director

Michael Bay

writer

Chuck Hogan ... (screenplay)

Mitchell Zuckoff ... (book)

cinematographer

Dion Beebe

music

Lorne Balfe

film editor

Michael McCusker
Pietro Scalia
Calvin Wimmer

box office result

Worldwide $69,411,370

Australia $962,948

North America $52,853,219

the best dialogue

Aiden: See... there's nothing there.

Sara: I don't know if this forest made you psycho or you were always this crazy.

Jess: I don't hear anything... only silence.

things to spend money on ...

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13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (2016) IMAGES

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13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (2016) STORY SYNOPSIS

Libya, 2012. At an unofficial CIA base in Benghazi a group of ex-military contractors are providing security. In the aftermath of Gaddafi's downfall a power vacuum exists and the climate is volatile. Military weapons are freely available. The US Ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, makes a visit to the area, staying in a compound near the CIA base. On the night of 11 September, 2012, the Ambassador's compound is attacked by hordes of heavily armed locals. The only forces willing and able to defend it are six CIA contractors.

THE FOREST (2016) MOVIE REVIEW

Reviewed by David Barnden | Review date 24 February 2016
Pop Movee Rating ⭐⭐⭐

Michael Bay has produced a cracker of a film here. The opening credits state 13 HOURS “is a true story” as opposed to being “based on a true story”. It’s a small distinction, but the events of Bay’s film have been adapted by screenwriter Chuck Hogan from Mitchell Zuckoff’s non-fiction literary account ‘13 HOURS’; published in 2014, describing how the events of the story unfolded. And what a story it is. Set in 2012 in Libya, the US Ambassador travels to the country in an effort to unite its people and re-build the war-torn Middle Eastern state.

Unfortunately, things turns completely pear-shaped on the anniversary if 9/11 when the “Ambo’s” makeshift consulate is overrun by local ISIS militia, and the Ambassador’s 2-man security detail is no match for 40-odd angry locals with AK47s, APGs and mortars. Fortunately, for the US Ambassador, a mile up the road is a covert CIA safe-house with 20 odd CIA agents and staff who are looked after by a handful of crack “military contractors”, otherwise referred to as Mercs. The contractors are tasked with the mission to go into the makeshift consulate and attempt to extract the Ambassador and his staff. It’s at this point that 13 HOURS kicks up a gear as Michael Bay jacks up both the tension and action, with some surreal scenes around the consulate where the team have no idea who is friend or foe.

Upon extraction to the CIA safe-house, all bets are off. The CIA’s cover has been blown, and there’s next to no chance of escaping by land, as the Mercs take to the roof to defend the compound from the constant barrage of machine gun and mortar fire. These battle scenes are harrowing and fierce, with several really impressive set-pieces including a demonstration of what happens when a local with an RPG gets shot in the head just as he hits the trigger! (Here’s a note to remember: never carry a massive IED rocket launcher in a bus to a gunfight with crack Mercs.) Bay, along with Cinematographer Dion Beebe, whose last film was the future-war thriller EDGE OF TOMORROW, do a better-than-average job at capturing the frenzy of exchanges between the two opponents.

Whilst the story and action are great, not much time is dedicated to character development. Bay makes an attempt to introduce the viewer to the various Mercs with the arrival of Jack Silva (John Krasinski) at the compound, but, as is the case with most true stories, there are a lot of players, and the speed of the introductions leave the audience playing catch-up for a great deal of the film. The story doesn’t anoint any one of the Mercs as a hero, but as the audience follows Krasinski’s Silva through the story the bravery of all the Mercs is revealed in each successive action they are forced to take to defend their position.

Whilst not everyone makes it out alive, Bay provides a level of emotional pay-off that will leave viewers feeling satisfied. There’s a nice touch to the end credits, with photos of the actual people involved being shown. The film is not without a lapse of two into pure American jingoism and the film could have done without the gratuitous shot of the burnt American flag floating in the pool of the embassy. That said, for movie-goers who enjoyed films like BLACK HAWK DOWN and AMERICAN SNIPER, 13 HOURS will not disappoint and is make a strong impression on the big screen.