Edge of your seat heroic tragedy

Rating: 9/10 (12 March 2020)

Utterly engaging edge of your seat stuff. Based on the book by the very operators being portrayed in the movie, it shows the buildup and attack leading to the tragic killing of a US ambassador and his bodyguards during a massive insurgency in Libya. It also shows the extraordinary bravery and skill of the secret soldiers who were there mainly to provide security and not to engage in a massive battle.
All the way through the movie I kept asking myself "so when's the cavalry coming?" But the cavalry never came, due to sheer incompetence or sheer indifference by the higher-ups.
Is it possible that an army of insurgents can build up without anyone in US intelligence knowing? Is it possible that the insurgent army can then attack an embassy compound and no help come at all? The movie deliberately makes no judgement and leaves it up to the viewer to decide.
It's an interesting illustration of our times that when these guys returned to the US, far from being lauded as heroes they were either ignored or vilified by the media. The death of a US ambassador had to be blamed on someone and it was not going to be the politicians and generals who were in charge but the nobodies who tried and failed to save him. My hat goes off to them, however, and the politicians, media and their supporters can shove it.