Michael Bay is at the helm of the true account of the American soldiers stationed in Benghazi during a time of true chaos and mayhem. John Krasinski stars in the action flick that surprisingly provides heft and respects its story, which is truly surprising given the enigmatic director's previous work. Known well for turning the American tragedy at Pearl Harbor into an action packed love story that featured an entirely fictional cast, Bay refused to honor the real subjects of the fateful attack and over saturated and packed explosions into a tragic true story of death. Needless to say, there were skeptics regarding Bay's ability to take a serious subject, well... seriously.
13 Hours is not exactly a dialogue driven drama so much as it is an action flick that succeeds at being an action flick, and nothing more than that really. Bay goes in political directions that make the film more engaging and help establish more relevance in this film, which was an interesting angle. The Benghazi situation is still a hot topic to debate with regards to U.S. foreign policy, and the things that could have been done differently to save lives in the violent affair. And while Bay successfully incorporates the political implications of the predicament into his movie, the scenes of actual meaning and significance are too far and in between. 13 Hours is an exhausting and tiresome movie, in only a way that Michael Bay can make a movie exhausting and tiresome. This movie is essentially a Call of Duty mission for three quarters of its runtime, while the remaining portion is comprised of awkward dialogue and a very preachy ending that refuses to let the actual filmmaking do the story a justice. 13 hours is a poor man's Black Hawk Down, full of nauseating action from a director who is half as talented, and twice as obnoxious, as Ridley Scott. Consequently the film needs a tacked on ending that sums up everything with dramatic music in the background to force-feed the audience the films' significance, rather than letting he film actually do this throughout its runtime. 13 Hours has good intentions, but is a lazy film, made by a director who has shown that serious subject matter isn't exactly his forte. I was actually surprised that the director of the distasteful Pain and Gain and Pearl Harbor was going to take a stab at honoring real events, with casualties, without being gimmicky and annoying with color saturation and too many explosions. While Bay has matured as a filmmaker, that doesn't necessarily mean that he's improved. He is still too flawed narratively and stylistically to make this movie work, and while his style may appeal to some viewers, he wasn't the right choice for this movie.
The action in this movie is well done, but very repetitive. The acting is solid, but will unlikely blow you away. 13 Hours is average, simply put. It is quite forgettable, which is sad given the potential a movie about these events had to be truly great. A good movie is hidden in here somewhere, but amidst the chaotic filmmaking mess, its impossible to find.
C-