In keeping with my New Year's resolution, I'm determined to see more movies in the theater. To that end, Hubby and I have just seen Michael Bay's newest film, "13 Hours."
Like so many things in our world these days, "13 Hours" is not easily categorized. Is it an action movie? A thriller? A war film? A political statement? A dark comedy?
"13 Hours" tells the true story of the events of September 11, 2012 in Benghazi, Libya when ambassador Christopher Stevens and Information officer Sean Smith were killed in an American Embassy during a coordinated attack by militants. Another compound approximately 1 mile away was also attacked and 2 CIA contractors, Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty, were killed. Both Woods and Doherty were former Navy SEALS, The event is also called the Battle of Benghazi.The movie details the events leading up to the attack, the attack itself and the aftermath.
It's a breathless, fast paced film. I checked my watch about halfway through and could not believe how fast time had gone. Surprising and excellent performances by Jon Krasinski and former fellow "The Office" castmate David Denham. Krasinski makes the leap from comedic goofy guy to convincing serious action guy smoothly, and his performance is one bright star in a sky of sparkling moments. Director Michael Bay presents the film with the unblinking feel of a documentary, complete with several time stamps.
Bay steers clear of pointing a political finger, although much of the fall out stemming from the Battle of Beghazi has been hard to avoid in this presidential election year. The viewer is left not so much blaming one person or one party, but rather blaming the breakdown of leadership and the "cover your a**"" mentality that is so much a part of the fabric of the US government. There is no question in the point Bay is trying to get across by telling this story about the battle that's lead to months of testimony and chest thumping about emails and phone calls and and more emails. Bay is shining a light on the six men who managed to defend more than 30 Americans against all odds when the rest of the US refused to help. These six men did not worry about polls or votes or politics or political correctness. They worried about defending the people in their care even though repeated calls for help went unanswered.
As an American I am proud of those six men.
This movie is not for the faint of heart. It is violent. But it is also touching, and at moments funny. This would fall into my "important movies" category. You should see this. You should educate yourself about the Battle of Benghazi. You should teach your children, because they aren't learning history in schools anymore, and certainly not much in the way of current history. Watch this film. Read what you can. Draw your own conclusions. For me, the last line of the movie said it all.
And I'm not going to tell you what that line is. You need to see it for yourself.
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