13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (4K UHD + Digital)

The Story: Good, not great, but for Michael Bay it was almost documentary film accurate.The Picture: Superb, this gave my OLED a real workout.The Sound: So tense and snappy it gave my wife a panic attack.

It was intense and kept you on the edge of your seat

It's uncanny how much better this movie is than anything else Michael Bay has ever done.

Good movie.

Funny seeing the office guy on there. But solid movie!

Michael Bay’s film is about the killing of the US ambassador in Benghazi in 2012. This is based on a real event. Four American lives were lost to a violent mob. The film is exciting and well produced. Bay is a great action director. The film has an Alamo feel to it. The men who experienced this event corroborated the events depicted in the film.The CIA hired six combat veterans to protect their secret base in Benghazi. It is run by over twenty effete and arrogant Harvard and Yale graduates. The CIA chief (David Costabile) does not like his protectors and does not believe they are necessary, so there is tension on the American side. The vets have no idea what they are fighting for, but they are depicted as heroes. They do the job because they need the money and they also seem to enjoy the camaraderie and the warrior lifestyle.Libya was in a state of anarchy after the US overthrew its leader, Colonel Gaddafi in 2011. Islamists were killing gays and Libya saw the return of slave markets. The supposedly smart people running US foreign policy assumed that Libya, like any Muslim country, could be Americanized and its people were just yearning for democracy. It quickly turned into a nightmare. The film shows armed mobs on the streets of Benghazi who want to kill Americans. The country is still engaged in a civil war today.The film questions American interventionism, which is not what I would have expected. The film does not explain why the Benghazi outpost had to fight so long without backup. We are shown talking heads in Washington but it is never explained why the requests for support are ignored. The film gives the impression that the men and women on the ground were let down by Washington. Hillary Clinton was the Secretary of State at the time and the removal of Gaddafi was allegedly her idea. She was criticized by Republicans in Congress for screwing up the evacuation and causing the death of the ambassador. The film never mentions her role.The film is surprising scornful of foreign intervention and suggests that the foreign policy elite does not understand the Muslim world. The film was criticized in a Rolling Stone review, who interpreted its anti-war message as a criticism of Hillary Clinton, God forbid. As someone who came of age politically in the 1970s, it seems confusing that we are receiving anti-war messages from a commercial director like Michael Bay, while Rolling Stone, which used to be anti-establishment now backs the warmongers. Anyway, I enjoyed the movie.

While I am not a fan of war movies in any way, and I have not liked most of those I have seen due to them feeling/seeming to fake, this movie isn't like that.If you want to watch a movie that can help you understand the things that are faced by those who defend others, this would be a good one to see.I liked the fact that they didn't use 'big name' actors. That always makes such movies seem off to me. Taking away from what is being told and making people focus on specific actors. While I did recognize some of the ones in this movie, none of them were made out to be the 'focus' of the film. Which is great. More films should take note of that. If you want to make something more 'real' (as least as far a movies can be) stop using big names and making it all about them. For such movies, instead make the movie about the story you are telling. Real one or not. Not about the fame of any actor.I also thought it was great that made things confusing, not because they were trying to trick you into not knowing what was coming (like most movies do), but because that is what actually happens. Even those who may have seemed like your allies turn out to be your enemy. You just don't know what someone is going to do in such situations.

Great Military Film

Its a good movie based on actual events. Basically how manipulative US geopolitics is and how towards end of the movie, those least deserving are rewarded by the US govt, while those who really gave their all and life were basically ignored. It's a reflection of the hypocritical policies of the US govt in dealing with the rest of the world.