The American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, was attacked by some 150 militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and vehicle-mounted artillery on the evening of September 11th, 2012. To this very day, there is still so much controversy over the tragic events that ended with the first U.S. Ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979. While we know that a YouTube video did not spark a planned siege on the embassy, there are so many other questions as to the reasons for so many security lapses that resulted in the deaths of U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens, U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Officer Sean Smith and CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty.
So it’s rather surprising that with so many unknowns, that last November Paramount announced that they were making a movie depicting the attack in Benghazi. Even more surprising is that Michael Bay was directing it. Yes, the explosion-obsessed, Transformers-making, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-loving Michael Bay.
The first trailer for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi has arrived and there is flying bullets, chaos, John Krasinski and of course explosions. Chuck Hogan (The Town) wrote the script based on the Mitchell Zuckoff’s book “Thirteen Hours: A Firsthand Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi.” It centers around the six brave members of a security team who fought to defend against the deadly attack.
Besides Krasinksi, the film stars James Badge Dale (World War Z), Toby Stephens (Die Another Day), Pablo Schreiber (Orange Is the New Black), Max Martini (Pacific Rim), David Denman (Fanboys) and Dominic Fumusa (Focus). The movie was filmed in Malta and Morocco.
While it’s Hollywood’s job to tell riveting stories, it’s tough to not remember that this movie only has a plot because four innocent people lost their lives, not to mention that it happened not that long ago.
Bay’s 13 Hours comes out in theaters on January 15, coincidently the same weekend that American Sniper debuted last year. Plus it will be prime campaign time by then, which could mean the movie could have political ramifications because Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State when this deeply saddening event took place.