13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

13 Hours is a return to Michael Bay doing what he does best. Having people blow stuff up and look cool doing it.
In the last decade, Michael Bay has only directed one film that didn’t have the word Transformers in its title. In the years before he became obsessed with turning toys into movies, he was the go-to guy for movies that needed excessive explosions and gunfire. While it's not perfect by any means, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a return to Michael Bay doing what he does best. Having people blow stuff up and look cool doing it
Trailer:

When I heard Bay was going to make a movie that would deal with the tragedy that took place in Benghazi, Libya in 2012, I was equal parts curious and nervous. The only time that Bay had ever dealt with a real event previously was in 2001’s less-than-stellar Pearl Harbor. What’s more, the events of the film are still a political hotbed, making it all but inevitable that this movie will become just one more thing for the politically divisive crowd to fight over. Prepared for the worst with 13 Hours, I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed it.

The movie opens with a brief summary of the events that turned Libya from a nation under the rule of despot Muammar Gaddafi into a nation in charge of its own destiny. Unfortunately, this transition was far from clean, leaving the country in upheaval. We are then introduced to our primary character of  Jack Silva (John Krasinski) arriving in Benghazi. He’s a former military man, now independent contractor on a short term contract to help provide security for a covert CIA location and a nearby American diplomatic post. Silva is one of six men at the post. The rest of the team consists of Tyrone 'Rone' Woods (James Badge Dale), Kris 'Tanto' Paronto (Pablo Schreiber), Dave 'Boon' Benton (David Denman) John 'Tig' Tiegen (Dominic Fumusa), and Mark 'Oz' Geist (Max Martini).  Each one is a former Navy SEAL or Army Spec. Ops. soldier. They're the best in the world at what they do (and are classic Bay archetypes).

These also are the men who co-wrote the book on which 13 Hours is based. As such, each one of them is presented as both a perfect soldier and a loving family man. Maybe it’s true that these six men knew exactly what to do at every moment when nobody else could do anything right. But as a movie that’s supposed to be based on a real event, they seem too perfect. Nobody is flawed, nobody makes a mistake at any point. At the same time, each actor is able to bring some degree of humanity to their character so that they are relatable, and you do end up caring about them. Krasinski is absolutely the standout here. I have only a passing familiarity with his time on The Office. Seeing him in this role might be a shock to some who are in a similar boat, but he looks like a natural soldier on screen here.

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