Silly mistakes spoil it

Rating: Null/10 (27 March 2001)

13 Days is a worthwhile film in many ways. The acting is very good and the recreation of the period setting is near flawless. The pace builds very satisfactorily until the last quarter where it loses its way a bit.
But what the hell was the boom microphone doing bobbing about at the top of the screen in so many scenes? Pure amateur hour!
On a more serious note the attempt to caricature the US military figures as irresponsible zealots was lazy - easy black and white pap for liberals. Anyone with an ounce of decency knows that the real life villains were the Stalinist butchers in the Kremlin. Can you imagine a film that portrayed a doveish FDR and Hitler trying to do a deal in the teeth of opposition from McArthur and the SS? To suggest equivalence between democrats and dictators is morally decadent.
The truth is that Kruschev knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to get nuclear missiles close to the US and when he was caught doing so (the Soviets were unaware of the potency of the U2 at that time) he decided to test the resolve of JFK. There is quite a lot of anectdotal evidence that Kennedy would have offered a softer deal to the Soviets but for the opposition of many in Congress like Fulbright (not the US military who had no role in making the big political decisions).
However with that health warning out the way this film is worth seeing. It is exciting and, for the most part, realistic. Some people will regret the syrupy ending with Costner at his worst but on the whole its one of his better performances of recent years.