Movie Review: ’13 Hours’ might be Michael Bay’s best movie!

MOVIE REVIEW: 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI (R)

I’ve never been one to hide my general boredom when it comes to Michael Bay and his movies. This isn’t to say that the man is void of talent. I greatly enjoyed “The Rock,” and I am quite fond of “The Island” as well. Having said that, the “Transformers” franchise wasn’t my bag.

When Bay was doing press for “Age of Extinction,” he was asked by a reporter what he thought of all the “haters” out there. He basically said he didn’t really care what the naysayers thought and went on to suggest that the haters would still go and see his movie. At that very moment, it occurred to me that he was absolutely right. That’s why I’ve never commented on “Age of Extinction.”  Not because I hated it, but because I chose not see it.

With the recent release of “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Would this be another boring snooze-fest highlighted by a couple of masterfully executed battle sequences (I’m looking at you, “Pearl Harbor”), or would this be something more akin to “Black Hawk Down”? Thankfully, it’s more along the lines of the latter. This isn’t to say that “13 Hours” is a masterpiece, but for my money, it might just be the strongest film of Michael Bay’s career. And that’s saying something!

Tracing the widely publicized “Benghazi” incident in 2012, “13 Hours” delves into the lives of the military men who would make an epic stand against enemy fire at a U.S. compound in Libya.

Michael Bay isn’t known for his restraint. He’s more known for his bombast. Oddly enough, “13 Hours” offers up both. This is a movie about manly men fighting in the name of America, but Bay shows an uncharacteristic understated side here. There is certainly battle violence and explosions galore, but there’s real tension to go along with all the other stuff, and rather than treating the enemy like a mindless collective, Bay presents a more rounded look at this film’s central conflict than one might expect. This is to say that there are good guys and bad guys on both sides of the fence.

What’s more, Bay presents characters who actually ask questions first and shoot later. The flashy showman in Bay can’t resist resorting to dizzying camera movements and quick cut editing, but said style serves this film surprisingly well, and I don’t know that Bay has ever done a better job at building such palpable tension. The second half of this picture in particular moves at a very brisk pace. Having said that, Bay does go a little far with the lens flares. In fact, the “Armageddon” director even one-ups J.J. Abrams in that particular department.

“13 Hours” offers up a potent combination of real drama and emotional gravitas. This film takes a page out of “The Hurt Locker” playbook by suggesting that these men are almost addicted to combat because it’s all they know. But these are also men with families back home. Families that they desperately want to see again.

As Jack Silva, John Krasinski is the emotional anchor in “13 Hours.”  As he sit in the battlefield, he questions why it is he feels the need to keep coming back to such chaos when everything he really wants is waiting for him with open arms back in the U.S. Krasinski has a couple of moments in this picture that absolutely break the heart. This is some of his very best work.

If Krasinski is the heart at the center of “13 Hours,” then it’s the great James Badge Dale who emerges as the film’s soul. As Jack’s  brother, Tyrone “Rone” Woods, Dale hits all the right notes by way of undeniable swagger, oodles of confidence, and unlimited energy. He’s a soldier with heroism running through his veins, but he isn’t a one-dimensional killing machine. This man has great love, respect, and admiration for both his brotherhood in the battlefield and his biological brother. Dale is a superstar in the making, and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here.

Again, “13 Hours” isn’t exactly a modern combat movie masterpiece, but for Michael Bay, it marks a level of filmmaking maturity that I certainly didn’t see coming. Among the explosions, gunfire, and dizzying camera angles is a movie about men who would clearly do anything for their country. And it portrays this with very little grandstanding. Sure, “13 Hours” is gung-ho American, but it doesn’t get bogged down in heavy-handed political finger pointing. This movie delves into the situation rather than the cause, and Bay puts the viewer there in extremely tense fashion.