Another Fantastic Modern War Film

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2016)

Following in the footsteps of other January Released Modern War Flicks based on books (Lone Survivor and American Sniper), 13 Hours is thoroughly entertaining if I dare say the funniest of these films. 13 Hours for the most part takes away the political cluster of the Benghazi incident and mainly focuses on the job at hand for the 6 "bodyguards" protecting a secret CIA outpost. Which makes this film the perfect vehicle for Michael Bay to direct as it focuses on the action of the incident primarily.
The film that I would make the greatest comparison to 13 Hours would naturally be Black Hawk Down (even referenced in this film), which to be honest is not a negative because Black Hawk Down is an amazing film. There are just a lot of similarities as these heroes have to protect themselves in a foreign land where it honestly seems like everyone is an enemy.
This film naturally is full of Michael Bay-isms and full disclosure I love most of Michael Bay films all full of machismo. 13 Hours has the super slow-mo, the pan over a field with children playing (Armageddon), the camera moving through objects (Bad Boys II), and the bomb dropping (Pearl Harbor). So take that a positive or negative in regards to how you feel about a Michael Bay film.
All the actors who play the 6 soldiers are amazing! Their interactions with each other is so natural and believable which helps feel for the characters when the chaos starts. The comedic relief soldier, Tanto, played by Pablo Schreiber was wonderful and helped break the tension in this very suspenseful and intense situation. "Fighting a war in shorts" cracked me up every time.
The MVP of this movie was James Badge Dale as Tyrone "Rone" Woods. He portrayed the leader of the group perfectly as a flawed man who just wants to do the right thing. He should be a bonafide A-Lister.
All in All this was a very good, entertaining movie that should be seen in theaters and I will probably by the Blu-Ray Steelbook when it comes out.