13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

[Powdered Toast Man]

I saw "13 Hours" last week with my lady. I'm going to start this off by saying Michael Bay.

Okay, we all know what to expect and he delivers on his stereotypical explosions and yadda yadda yadda. This movie is basically the last 30 minutes of Zero Dark Thirty, but stretched over two hours and more explosion-y. I admittedly don't know much about Benghazi since I, to a fault, put my head in the sand about many newsworthy current events.

Now, if you take the movie for what it is...a story about the contractors that helped defend the CIA base in the area from an attack...the movie will entertain you. I don't really think I could detect any political commentary from the movie. It was basically the contractors' story and the events that unfolded during the attack.

If you like movies like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, American Sniper and Lone Survivor, you'll like 13 Hours. It just so happens to be at the bottom of the list containing those movies, which might not be a huge selling point.

Guns, pew-pew-pew, beards, machismo, ex-special forces lingo and catchphrases, and a rocked up Jim from The Office (along with one of the main characters from The Pacific and Pam's ex-boyfriend from The Office)...it was worth my gift card to the movies.

[CBStew]

I saw "13 Hours" last week with my lady. I'm going to start this off by saying Michael Bay.

Okay, we all know what to expect and he delivers on his stereotypical explosions and yadda yadda yadda. This movie is basically the last 30 minutes of Zero Dark Thirty, but stretched over two hours and more explosion-y. I admittedly don't know much about Benghazi since I, to a fault, put my head in the sand about many newsworthy current events.

Now, if you take the movie for what it is...a story about the contractors that helped defend the CIA base in the area from an attack...the movie will entertain you. I don't really think I could detect any political commentary from the movie. It was basically the contractors' story and the events that unfolded during the attack.

If you like movies like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, American Sniper and Lone Survivor, you'll like 13 Hours. It just so happens to be at the bottom of the list containing those movies, which might not be a huge selling point.

Guns, pew-pew-pew, beards, machismo, ex-special forces lingo and catchphrases, and a rocked up Jim from The Office (along with one of the main characters from The Pacific and Pam's ex-boyfriend from The Office)...it was worth my gift card to the movies.

I think that you and I already had this discussion.  I came away from three of those movies believing them to be anti-war statements.  I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I saw "13 Hours" last week with my lady. I'm going to start this off by saying Michael Bay.

Okay, we all know what to expect and he delivers on his stereotypical explosions and yadda yadda yadda. This movie is basically the last 30 minutes of Zero Dark Thirty, but stretched over two hours and more explosion-y. I admittedly don't know much about Benghazi since I, to a fault, put my head in the sand about many newsworthy current events.

Now, if you take the movie for what it is...a story about the contractors that helped defend the CIA base in the area from an attack...the movie will entertain you. I don't really think I could detect any political commentary from the movie. It was basically the contractors' story and the events that unfolded during the attack.

If you like movies like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, American Sniper and Lone Survivor, you'll like 13 Hours. It just so happens to be at the bottom of the list containing those movies, which might not be a huge selling point.

Guns, pew-pew-pew, beards, machismo, ex-special forces lingo and catchphrases, and a rocked up Jim from The Office (along with one of the main characters from The Pacific and Pam's ex-boyfriend from The Office)...it was worth my gift card to the movies.

I think that you and I already had this discussion.  I came away from three of those movies believing them to be anti-war statements.  I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not sure why they would be anti-war. I don't think war is good, but it is necessary. And the effects war has on our enemy, our soldiers and our leaders is real. Depression, shock and loss of innocence are all things we need to realize about it and I don't think that equates to anti-war.

I could be missing your point entirely here.

[CBStew]

I saw "13 Hours" last week with my lady. I'm going to start this off by saying Michael Bay.

Okay, we all know what to expect and he delivers on his stereotypical explosions and yadda yadda yadda. This movie is basically the last 30 minutes of Zero Dark Thirty, but stretched over two hours and more explosion-y. I admittedly don't know much about Benghazi since I, to a fault, put my head in the sand about many newsworthy current events.

Now, if you take the movie for what it is...a story about the contractors that helped defend the CIA base in the area from an attack...the movie will entertain you. I don't really think I could detect any political commentary from the movie. It was basically the contractors' story and the events that unfolded during the attack.

If you like movies like Zero Dark Thirty, The Hurt Locker, American Sniper and Lone Survivor, you'll like 13 Hours. It just so happens to be at the bottom of the list containing those movies, which might not be a huge selling point.

Guns, pew-pew-pew, beards, machismo, ex-special forces lingo and catchphrases, and a rocked up Jim from The Office (along with one of the main characters from The Pacific and Pam's ex-boyfriend from The Office)...it was worth my gift card to the movies.

I think that you and I already had this discussion.  I came away from three of those movies believing them to be anti-war statements.  I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

I'm not sure why they would be anti-war. I don't think war is good, but it is necessary. And the effects war has on our enemy, our soldiers and our leaders is real. Depression, shock and loss of innocence are all things we need to realize about it and I don't think that equates to anti-war.

I could be missing your point entirely here.

I don't know if I can accept that generality.  The U.S. Civil War?  Absolutely necessary.  World War One?  Not so much. 
But getting back to my point, I think that "American Sniper" provided a vivid demonstration of the side effects of war.   The overwhelming majority of war movies made during World War ll  attempted to glorify war and even death as a service to the cause.  But after World War l and ll movies like Three Comrades, and The Best Years of Our Lives tried to paint a picture like that in American Sniper.  The anti-war movies didn't stop us from Korea, or Viet Nam or any of our "police actions", and American Sniper isn't going to stop us from our next adventure.