“You can’t put a price on being able to live with yourself.”
Directed by: Michael Bay
Written by: Chuck Hogan, Mitchell Zuckoff
Cast: John Krasinski, James Badge Dale, Pablo Schreiber, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini
Swift shot: Michael Bay’s finest work, ever. This film was a balance of tension, international intrigue, gallows humor, and some of the most intense action sequences ever seen. If you prefer to avoid the news and are an idiot, (the classical definition being one who is void of important civic knowledge) maybe you have never heard of Benghazi or the September 11th attack in Libya that took four American lives in a 13 hour siege. And, if you are completely unaware of this event, please kill yourself.
On September 11th, 2012 a group of CIA Global Response Staff (GRS) operatives faced down a well-armed mob of militants set upon capturing, or killing, Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was there to usher in a post-Gaddafi era of Western cooperation. The CIA was in country running a clandestine operation to siphon out dangerous arms by essentially buying them from would-be bad guys and tracking said bad guys’ movements and their military arsenals. The goal was to keep the weapons from being used in attacks against Westerners at home and elsewhere.
As the film begins, we see GRS contractor Jack Silva (Krasinski) aboard a flight coming into Benghazi. He doesn’t even make it into the secure (supposedly secret) CIA Annex before he and his escort, Rone (Dale) are confronted by an impromptu ambush. Rone uses some quick thinking and a bluff to get them through the group of heavily armed unfriendlies. As soon as he checks into the annex, Jack gets the shittiest welcome aboard from his new boss, Bob (David Costabile) who clearly has a grudge against Alpha types. He makes it clear that Jack and his knuckle-dragger buddies are just there to stay the hell out of the way. The real players in the operation are the geeks with degrees and an aptitude for tracking data. You know, analysts, my people.
Everything is going pretty smoothly, the GRS guys are buying weapons from psychotic warlords and the analysts are keeping track of them and there’s even some straight-up good old fashioned spycraft in the field, as some officers are “developing” personalities . . . in other words recruiting agents to work for the CIA. They can’t just walk around Benghazi without armed escorts there to keep them safe, a fact that chagrins lovely blonde Sona (Alexia Barlier) and her twerpish, feeble looking partner Brit (Freddie Stroma) who wishes he could hold James Bond’s jockstrap. But, the reality is, somehow all the smartest people in the country haven’t figured out just how volatile a powder keg Benghazi really is.
It’s a shit show, and you’re all invited!
Once the Ambassador arrives, the CIA Annex guys pretty much see right away how vulnerable he is; his diplomatic compound is indefensible. It’s just waiting to be compromised, and the few Americans there are ill-equipped to deal with any real threats. Here’s where things start to get disgusting, the Americans are relying on foreign militias called the 17 Feb. It’s not an embassy, so there aren’t armed Americans standing outside the residence.
You can see what is coming, I mean, anyone with a modicum of military force protection training can see what is about to happen. And then, it does. In a surreal advance on the compound, where not one guard returned fire, a few dozen armed men burst right into the Ambassador’s estate. In a matter of seconds, it went from a peaceful evening to utter carnage.
And it didn’t end until 13 hours of some of the most heroic efforts by all the Americans at the CIA Annex. They disobeyed direct orders to run to the rescue of the Ambassador and his people. Tragically, it was too late, and there are still evidentiary hearings to make those responsible pay for their ineptness in the stand down order. But, this isn’t a film dissecting the bureaucratic side-stepping of the Obama administration or the State Department. I am sure that movie will be made once the hearings are finalized and the criminals . . . yes, I use that word accurately, are sent to prison for their dereliction of duty.
No, this was a film about the men and women on the ground, that night and early morning as they dealt with the waves of attacks. I’ve heard other critics attacking Bay for not holding Clinton and Obama directly responsible, but again, that isn’t the movie he wanted to tell. This is not a movie about the dip-shit politicians, this is a movie about the poor sonsofbitches dealing with their idiotic choices. And I didn’t see where any politician was “exonerated” in 13 Hours.
This was a story about Rone, the former SEAL who displayed courage and inspires us all to be better citizens.
It was a story about Bub (Toby Stephens), another former SEAL who made the only real effort in Tripoli to go and help his friends.
It was a story about Oz (Martini), the former Marine who fought all night without a care for his own safety so that others could survive.
It was a story about former SEAL Jack Silva and how he balanced his love of country and friends over love of family and how he had to face the reality of those choices that night.
It was a story about former Ranger Tanto (Schreiber) and how he and his buddies Boon (Denman) and Tig (Fumusa) and all of those men and women who fought through the night made us proud to know that Americans like them are still out there.
This is their story, so if some critics or political novices want to throw disparity at the film, frankly, I don’t think they care. The only opinions of this film that matter are theirs.
Will you like this film? I don’t care – I fucking loved it!!!! The action sequences were intense and real, I cared about each of the characters, their stories mattered, their hopes and fears were mine. And because this is a true story, it gives me hope that maybe someone who never heard of Benghazi will see this film and shed a tear for the heroes who died and those who survived and also had the courage to tell their story when the administration lied and manipulated the media to bury the truth. If you aren’t outraged after seeing this film, you aren’t a real American, period!
