Bombastic yet appealling telling of a true story as, with the fall of Ghadafi, Libya freefalls into civil war – and American political and military personnel in Benghazi are targeted by various militia groups.
Jack Silva (John Krasinski – A Quiet Place, Aloha) is the final member of the ex-military contractors at an ‘unmarked’ CIA compound to arrive in Libya – just as tensions and anti-American sentiment reach boiling point. Ther’s no love lost between head of mission, Bob (David Costabile – Lincoln, TV’s Billions) and the team, adding to the tensions in the compound. When US Ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letscher – Her, TV’s The Flash) visits, all hell breaks loose as they are attacked by hordes of heavily armed locals. The security team of six need to somehow hold out until help is despatched.
Director Michael Bay (Ambulance, Transformers) typically pumps up the action and takes poetic licence with the unfolding drama but by his standards, 13 Hours is remarkably restrained. The humour and depth of friendship of the security team members help the balance of a harrowing film that could have so easily simply degenerated into gun battle after gun battle (which, in part, it inevitably is).
Nominated for 1 Oscar in 2017 – best sound mixing.
Rating: 65%
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