Beyond any BS - Unexpected Excellence

Rating: 8/10 (4 June 2016)

Benghazi.
In this age of bitter rhetoric, the name conjures all manner of furor and blame. A small stinging wound to honor and prestige - a name to carry hate and zealotry.
Michael Bay, OF ALL PEOPLE, was able to peer into the 2012 attack on US diplomatic and intelligence resources, and capture one hell of a war story. Going into this movie, I expected a number of things. Among them were gratuitous explosions, jingoistic flag waving, and tough-guy tired clichés. I did not get what I was expecting.
Instead, Bay, his cast, and his filmmaking team have brought out a solid, technically informed, faithfully rendered account of those who were caught in the conflagration - how they found themselves there, how they fought for their lives, and how they made it out...or didn't. There's no political agenda here. The only agenda is to show warriors (who are also real people, with cares, and hopes and flaws) engaged in struggle, with all the courage, and luck, horror, and terrible splendor that is timeless.
And in the end, there's no war worship - only somber reflection on the nature of struggle, and what it does to these warriors. This is a clear and worthy work for that. Bravo.