13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

The solid action scenes aren’t enough to save the flat story. In an effort to be serious, Bay becomes less entertaining. We’ve seen bands of tough guys pitted against ragheads a billion times. Of course, the bloody finale is fine, but I wanted more catchphrases and some crazy sadistic son of a bitch to spice up the boredom a little. I understand that based on real events means less of everything and more harsh reality, but then it would require a more interesting historical milestone than this. Next time they should try Greengrass or to film it from the Jihadis’ point of view, where the goons from the CIA would play the bad guys. (09/07/2016)

Michael Bay is a commercial filmmaker with a great grasp of basic genre scales and practices, but he cannot naturalise all the events, including the action sequences, and give them a fatal, physically painful feel. 13 Hours is a prototype of a good action flick, but it desperately lacks any innovative impulse that would elevate it to the category of excellent – the protagonist is presented using the most profane clichés and his only motivation is traditionally to return to his wife and small daughters, while the other players in the story are nothing but passer-bys, hard to tell from one another thanks to identical physical parameters in the action turmoil. The basic plot is plumped up by the annoying figure of the irrational boss, who only acts expediently to further escalate the situation, and finally the action itself doesn't make you completely surrender to it and forget everything else. We can praise the fast pace, thanks to which the runtime doesn't feel excessive, and the opening documentary passage and the related depiction of Benghazi as a real hell on earth, where killing is the order of the day. It's a more sincere and effective film than the disparate Pearl Harbor, but still too contrived and lacking in intensity, a stale looser compared to Black Hawk Down. 60% (30/05/2016)

Michael Bay is searching and doesn't know which way to go. He may be aging and maturing in certain creative aspects, but at the same time he is dramatically losing his directorial touch and there is almost nothing left of what entertained his millions of fans and die-hard worshippers in the 90s and 00s. Nowadays they're more or less experiments meant to evoke some sort of shift in the viewer's perception, but I want the old Armageddon and 14 cuts per second back, not a half digital copy of Black Hawk Down where the dying and marine feeling is similarly raw but formally lost before our eyes. The viewer is eventually hit by explosions and bullets, but not entirely in a positive way. It's not as it should be. (06/02/2016)

I wonder what the Americans would make films about if they weren't constantly spreading democracy everywhere. I can’t wait to see an action-packed film about returning stolen land to Indian tribes. But back to the film. The fight scenes are shot well – I especially liked the sequence with the mine à la first-person action. Unfortunately, the film is ruined by E.T.-call-home-type scenes. One of the final lines "I don't know how you survived all that. But I know how the rest of us did" almost made me throw up in my mouth a little. As usual, a giant dose of patriotism and pathos, but I’m sure the film is a huge success on the home front. (11/07/2016)

A riveting and intense film with Michael Bay at the peak of his career! "Call Of Duty" rules! And I give it a five cleaner than the bottom of the ocean. This movie absolutely outdoes all war movies of similar stature (Lone Survivor, American Sniper, Jarhead). After a slower opening, Bay serves up perhaps 100 minutes of epic, spectacular and intense warfare, with this elite six defending the embassy tooth and nail against the waves of Libyans! The six elite Marines are superbly chosen and although there are no familiar faces among them, they all perform so professionally and convincingly that you keep your fingers crossed for 144 minutes. The cinematography is undeniably stunning, the authenticity and dark atmosphere draws you in so much that you feel they are spending time with the characters in the film, and the explosions are a blast in places. The properly served brutality is also a pleasure, especially towards the end people with weaker stomachs will close their eyes, while "The Others" will rejoice and growl with joy. There are also plenty of powerful and memorable moments that bring goosebumps and tears flow at the same time, and I think five times I screamed for joy across the cinema. Yes that's how much the film excited me. A motherfucking intense movie right off the edge of the year and it undoubtedly will have a place in the Top 10. Story 7/10, Atmosphere 8/10, Gore 8/10, Visuals 10/10, Action 10/10, Suspense 9/10, Humour 5/10. Entertainment 9/10. 95%. More of this, please! (05/02/2016)