13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Director: Michael Bay
Stars: John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, James Badge Dale
Duration: 144 mins
Class: 12
KRS Releasing Ltd

On September 11, 2012, the US ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stephens, was killed along with three other Americans in an attack by a group of armed militants on the US consulate in Benghazi. This attack is the basis of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, which dramatises the story of the six elite ex-military operators, on the ground to protect the CIA team stationed near the consulate, who fought to defend the consulate from the bloody onslaught.

This is a true story, we are told at the opening of the film, which sets the scene with footage from the aftermath of the deposition of Gaddafi, which left Libya a country in chaos, a situation that persists today. Yet, how truthfully these events are depicted is impossible to assess – never mind the plethora of critics who have questioned the film’s accuracy since its release. What unfolds on screen is so confusingly implemented that, for long stretches of its 144-minute running time, it’s hard to work out from the muddled plot what really is happening, how things got so desperately out of control and who was ultimately responsible for the tragic event.

It was an event that dominated the news at the time and there have been suggestions that the film was purposely released now to coincide with the final stages of Hillary Clinton’s Presidential run.

Clinton was Secretary of State at the time of the Benghazi attacks and many opponents were ready to lay the blame at her feet. The film however never actually takes us to Washington’s reaction to what was unfolding in Benghazi; and ultimately, who was ultimately responsible cannot in any way be determined from the action that unfolds on screen.

What is evident from the outset is that there was obvious discord between the CIA on the ground in Benghazi and the men assigned to protect them. And, to the casual observer – i.e., the viewer – it would appear that the root cause of all the chaos that ensued was this discord. That confusion ruled the day seems obvious. However, the script by Chuck Hogan, based on the non-fiction book 13 Hours by Mitchell Zuckoff, leaves audiences none the wiser.

On the surface, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a far cry from the blockbuster popcorn movies director Michael Bay is normally associated with. If his intent was truly to make a ‘serious’ film, he certainly chose the right subject matter. Yet, ultimately, what he has produced is a Michael Bay movie – big, brash and bombastic, dominated by car chases, extensive gun fights and explosions… much of it before we get to the 13-hour siege of the title. And, once it begins, as the Americans suffer wave after wave of ambush, what ensues is sheer confusion and noise, a cacophony of shooting and shouting; compounded by frenetic camera work and frenzied editing which does not drive the narrative forward.

The unrelenting action may satisfy Bay’s diehard fans, yet the subject matter demands better characterisation than what the film offers. The large ensemble cast led by John Krasinski and James Badge Dale make the most of what they have to work with. Yet, the characters are thinly sketched with little depth. Moments of attempted gravitas are empty of feeling and never convince. Teary Skype calls home to their loved ones blatantly tug at the heartstrings. They are presented as heroes but feel like little more than trite representations of American machismo. This robs the viewer of any real empathy towards them, and it is hard to relate what is happening on screen with the real tragedy three years ago in which people lost their lives.

On the plus side is David Costabile’s committed performance as the CIA chief, and the actor raises it above the caricature of a weak bureaucrat. The film loses further points for its lazy depiction of all Libyan citizens as either gun-toting fanatics or incompetent, untrustworthy and dispensable allies

The film was, of course, filmed here in Malta and a distraction from the chaos comes from spotting recognisable locations and identifying the many Maltese actors gracing the screen, some for fleeting moments others for longer. I managed to catch most of you.

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