Review of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016) by Jeff S — 10 Jun 2016

It's a damn shame that the war in the Middle East doesn't pick up cinema popularity like Viet Nam or WWII did. With the exception of course being the thankfully surprising and well-deserving show that "American Sniper" put on, anything else coming out of that desert hell hole that American's have occupied on & off for the better part of ne'er 30 years is sadly panned by the majority population. Currently falling out of the top after it's all too brief stint, this film looks to be following the sad suit. And it truly is sad. Politics, people's feelings, and the American's cultural ability to turn the blind "out of sight, out of mind" eye, should never take away from films that try to pay homage to the military and what they stand for. . . In this instance, "13 Hours" chronicles the fateful night of September 11th, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya where a US embassy came under the attack of a large Islamic force. And all that stood in the way of many American lives being lost was a few security personell and a 6 man team of ex-military specialists hired on as a privately contracted group of ass kickers. The timeless feud of quantity meets quality was tested that night as wave after wave of radical forces crashed against a wall manned by few. Few, that if necessary, would lay down their lives and take as many with them till the bitter end.

But as much as I respect the story and the people of the military being honored, I will unfortunately forever remember this film as a poor man's "Black Hawk Down". I don't blame the choice of story, as it is as good an ode to the heroes of our military as any. I don't blame the acting, as all roles were on point with a crazy good serious turn from typically funny man John Krasinski (The Office). I don't blame a lack of intensity, grit, or visuals that films like these sometimes have issue with. . . I do however blame the writing and overall execution from director Michael Bay as he unsuccessfully attempted to control the chaos of the film. He is no stranger to pacing action films with his many turns in the Bad Boys and Transformer franchises. This was just a different kind of beast that deserved a finer touch, much like again what filmmaker Ridley Scott put on the table with "Black Hawk Down" (though, it too was unfortunately not given it's due by the general population). In the end, this was much like my experience a long time ago with the fabeled "Space Mountain" roller coaster in the dark ride. Uncomfortably all over the place and intentionally jerking it's ride taker in every which way direction. "13 Hours" will similarily peak your interest and reak a bad ass novelty about it, but underwhelms in the grand scheme of things. I'm proud to have a somewhat decent motion picture dedicated to this story, these heroes, and many more like them, but it still needed to be executed better.

GRADE: B-.