13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
Director: Michael Bay
Starring: James Badge Dale, John Krasinki, Max Martini, Pablo Schreiber
Primary genre: Biography
Second genre: Action
Third genre: Thriller
Nominated for: Best sound mixing
Although Michael Bay’s filmography is mostly populated by several (unapologetically) entertaining pop corn flicks, these usually do not fare well critically. Yet, in the current climate of CGI monstrosities, they tend to stand out due to their impressive digital and technical finesse and breathtaking stuntwork. A director who rarely catches the audience by surprise, it is interesting to see him dealing with a human story that does not feature alien robots, end of the world scenarios or OTT villains.
Written by Chuck Hogan (“The Town“ (2010)), “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” might not be the most stunning cinematic display of bravery you will ever see but considering Bay’s standards, it could easily be regarded as his most passionate flick since well … ”The Rock” (1996). In this mature effort, the script is responsible for minimizing all the prevalent Bay-isms (crude one liners, sexy models, product placement, parodical killings) by focusing on a ground-level depiction of war removing action scene excuses and setting up nicely the upcoming siege of the CIA compound in an effective way.
This is engrossing combat where soldiers are not aiming to outdo each other in a killing count but feel relatable humans forced to use deadly tactics to protect US assets. Hogan tones down the patriotic, gun-ho aspects too (as it would have been in bad taste) which so many other movies employ declining to provide political commentary in regards Libya’s state of affairs. Instead he opts out to favor real life individuals and their experiences, a welcome change for this type of film.
“What would they say about me? “He died in a place he didn’t need to be, in a battle over something he doesn’t understand, in a country that meant nothing to him.””
The good news (in a Bay production): the six soldiers who risked their lives do have some sort of personality and come across as likeable. However, they are almost indistinguishable bearing similar traits (e.g., beard, muscles, gruff voice, stoic) and the obligatory shots of skyping wives offer nothing exciting in the sentimental department. These characters seem to work better in conflict and less so in the quieter moments although Hogan does shoehorn a few meaningful lines to spice things up. Krasinki surprises with his physique although he mostly follows the stoic path engulfed by a commanding James Badge Dale who carries the film on an appropriate amount of heroism.
Bay is comfortable too at generating suspense; his hyper-saturated cinematography and glorification of military tactics, equipment and technology gives the proceedings a sense of urgency and upcoming chaos where no one can tell the good guys from the bad ones in a country where social disorder is imminent after Gaddafi’s fall (Libya). His drone shots give a clear geographical sense of the raid as waves of enemies continue to approach. Bay does what he does best though in the midst of the fog of war. Exploding things and creating bulletstorms are staged with gusto but their glamorization is (wisely) avoided. The limited budget though does not prevent Bay for having cars disintegrate in spectacular fashion, utilizing stunning mortar shots, converting walls to Swiss cheese and crafting beautiful visual palettes which deserve rightfully so, praise. The practicality of such sequences is ingenious supported by an Oscar nominated sound mixing, a credit to the director’s skill of offering up polished motion pictures, ideal for the big screen.
Clocking at two and a half hours, “13 Hours“ is among the best Michael Bay movies. While it does not maximize the emotional impact such a story deserves, it remains a testament to Bay’s skill of tackling adequately serious subjects if he wishes. You might even find yourself shading a tear due to film’s message about no winning sides in armed conflicts. “13 Hours” is the rare Michael Bay output that wasn't aiming to please American teenagers. Interesting is it not?
Among Bay’s finest
+Sensational action
+Sound mixing
+Bay’s restrained direction
+Thrilling story
+Not many Bay-isms
-Indistinguishable good guys
-Cliched characterization