10s Movie Review - 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Director: Michael Bay
Genre: Action/ Drama/ Thriller
Runtime: 144 minutes
Year: 2016
Starring: John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini, Alexia Barlier

Description: During an attack on a U.S. compound in Libya, a security team struggles to make sense out of the chaos.

Review: Jack Silva arrives in Libya to join the security team of a secret CIA base in the city of Benghazi. His friend an colleague Tyrone also works there. This city is also home to the American consulate. The city is in turmoil and there is a threat from local insurgents because of an American anti-Islamic film. When U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens comes to the consulate, his security team turns out to consist of only a few people. However, the CIA boss refuses to send Jack and Tyrone’s team to the consulate, fearing that his base will then no longer be secret. The insurgent’s, however, manage to penetrate the consulate’s premises and the it’s all hands on deck for the security guards. But the CIA boss still refuses to send the team to the consulate. The chances of them saving the ambassador are dwindling by the minute.

Anyone who says September 11 quickly thinks of the 2001 attacks in America. Bu on September 11, 2012, the American consulate in Libya was also the target of an attack. It made the news, but never widely reported in the newspaper. And in the end, it turned out that there was much more at play than what was initially made public.

In terms of atmosphere and style, “13 Hours” is a bit reminiscent of “Black Hawk Down”. But where what is a film with some nuanced content, Michael Bay’s film is all about the hard action. Bay is not really known for his nuance anyway, and you don’t have to expect that in “13 Hours”. The characters are all very one-dimensional and highly unlikeable, with Jack Silva being the exception. He’s also the one big name in the film: John Krasinski. It is one of Bay’s better films though, even though it’s not a movie that I would remember for long. The movie was way too long and is very heave on the patriotism.  But the film is solid enough for me to give it a positive rating.

Rating: 3/ 5