Michael Bay Directing Benghazi Drama "13 Hours"

[chaseter]

Visually gorgeous.

Visually gorgeous propaganda.

You must despise Captain America.

 

[chaseter]

This will probably be the first Bay film I dont watch. As if the public doesnt already have a confused uninformed opinion on Benghazi. This film is going to become the "facts" about the situation for most that see this.

Terrorists storming an embassy and killing Americans on the anniversary of 9/11...not very convoluted. Who are you worried about being misrepresented here?

 

[Napoleon]

So what should I read/watch/listen to in order to get the facts on Benghazi?

 

[Tacit Ronin]

You must despise Captain America.

Post excavated Cap fights the government. Didn't you see TWS? Didn't you see the trailer for Civil War?

 

[chaseter]

His name is propaganda...'twas my point. His suit is an American flag but an American flag in a Michael Bay movie is propaganda? Someone better call the White House...the flag in the front yard is propaganda!

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Michael Bay glorifies the American military, he even admits it. Nothing in Captain America glorifies the military.

 

[chaseter]

The US flag is not glorification of the military. The flag stands for more than a military industrial complex. A US flag being planted on the grounds of our defeated enemy is propaganda. So, flag shots aren't propaganda, they are a representation of a nation, not just the military. You can't criticize a flag in a Bay movie as being propaganda when defending Captain America who was literally created as wartime propaganda. He's evolved. Tarantino movies could be propaganda for gun or sword ownership as he glorifies guns and swords. Bay isn't making propaganda, he just has a military ***** 24/7.

 

[Loki882]

Oh please, his military glorification is well-documented. And worse still, he often does it at the expense of other nations, whom he just loves to make look bad.

So basically, Michael Bay is the LAST person that I want directing something like this.

 

[terry78]

I feel Bay was born in the wrong era. During the 40s it would've killed.

 

[Fallen Angel]

THR- '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi': Review http://thr.cm/Vazuzz

Variety- Film review: 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi http://bit.ly/201vFPF

 

[CaptainWagner]

I agree Bay is the last guy I trust to make a well-balanced war film about a sensitive subject matter. However I hope this movie is judged on its actual merits and not attacked by bandwagon haters who jump on any movie that doesn't demonize the American military as "Propaganda Crap".

 

[Webfoot Hero]

I agree Bay is the last guy I trust to make a well-balanced war film about a sensitive subject matter. However I hope this movie is judged on its actual merits and not attacked by bandwagon haters who jump on any movie that doesn't demonize the American military as "Propaganda Crap".

Too late as just about every review is knocking the movie because of Bay and/or the casting of military/PMC members in a good light. The movie is not going to be the greatest thing ever on film but it's telling the story of the actual event on the ground that's been overshadowed by the high-politicized aftermath.

 

[Doctor Jones]

That Deadline review stated how it's not about the political discussion of what was/wasn't done. I just hope this isn't like American Sniper. Hopefully this movie takes a stand on something for God's sake. Just tell the truth and execute it right and the movie will tell itself.

This movie ain't gonna get the controversy of Sniper because it's not gonna be anywhere near as successful. If this movie makes a killing then this thread is going to be pouring.

 

[dude stannis]

That Deadline review stated how it's not about the political discussion of what was/wasn't done. I just hope this isn't like American Sniper. Hopefully this movie takes a stand on something for God's sake. Just tell the truth and execute it right and the movie will tell itself.

This movie ain't gonna get the controversy of Sniper because it's not gonna be anywhere near as successful. If this movie makes a killing then this thread is going to be pouring.

A reviewer friend of mine saw a screener. It's Michael Bay making an 80's action movie and nothing more complex than that.

 

[Doctor Jones]

I'm not that surprised. I was kind of wishing it'd be something more than that.

 

[dude stannis]

I'm not that surprised. I was kind of wishing it'd be something more than that.

Especially considering the presence of that particular security team was illegal I believe (Though I maybe wrong about this).

 

[Thorne]

Watched it. Loved it. Wishing Bay would do more moderately budgeted movies like this.

Hollywood makes a sport of vilifying the security contractors as a way of having their cliche US Military villains while avoiding blow-back for using them. But this movie shows these guys do not stop being soldiers just because their contract is slightly different.

The story lends itself well enough to many tropes of action movies (isolated outpost, et alia) that it can just let the facts speak for themselves without making a segue into the still murky politics of why things happened the way they did. There are claims that there was no stand-down order, but I trust the accounts of the guys who were there (and performed heroically) and have since retired.

I'm really glad they show Chris Stevens well since he was a very much admired idealist.

The action scenes were some of the best I've seen, confusing and savage yet well coordinated and detailed. The tension adds to it in a way that is lost on most of the big blockbusters these days.

I'm so glad I saw this instead of Star Wars.

 

[Lord]

I feel Bay was born in the wrong era. During the 40s it would've killed.

I actualy feel like he's a sort of Cecil B. DeMille for USA army propaganda, valuing spectacle over anything else, usualy having atractive woman to make things more visualy appealing, liking to use bright colors in his cinematography and usualy having caricautes instead of characters, even when trying to make dramatic films.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Bay is truly an incredible craftsman of a filmmaker. And what was the budget of this movie? I thought I heard it was $9 million. Even if it's around that this movie looks like it's a middle budget film. He did the same with Pain and Gain. The man's got skill.

 

[CaptainWagner]

Too late as just about every review is knocking the movie because of Bay and/or the casting of military/PMC members in a good light. The movie is not going to be the greatest thing ever on film but it's telling the story of the actual event on the ground that's been overshadowed by the high-politicized aftermath.

See, I hate this. The same thing happens to The Hurt Locker. Some people just can't accept movies where the military isn't the villains, I guess...

 

[Doctor Jones]

While it's good to see both sides of the military represented in the film, both sides still in some way ideally should always talk about the truth which really has no side. There's ugly sides to the military that should be talked about, but then there is some really great stories coming from it too. There's room for both. But saying that putting the military in a more positive light makes it propaganda is as black and white as those same people who criticize propaganda. It depends on how that's well executed. Saving Private Ryan did a pretty great job at it. But more importantly, it showed the humanity of it all. It ended with the American flag, but it was earned because the movie wasn't black and white morality.

 

[terry78]

Yeah, I think it's become like a kneejerk reaction not only here in the states but around the world to view the US military as a shady organization with jack booted thugs.

 

[Thorne]

Bay is truly an incredible craftsman of a filmmaker. And what was the budget of this movie? I thought I heard it was $9 million. Even if it's around that this movie looks like it's a middle budget film. He did the same with Pain and Gain. The man's got skill.

I've read the budget is 50mil, but it looks better than films that spent a few times that.

And I totally agree Pain and Gain was awesome.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Yeah, I think it's become like a kneejerk reaction not only here in the states but around the world to view the US military as a shady organization with jack booted thugs.

It also has to do with in part being in a post Iraq War/Bush America where anything including the military being associated with any of those two things connotes as more negative. Not necessarily a bad thing in some cases, we're just more suspicious and not to be so trusting of what people say which can be a good thing. But that doesn't mean you totally dismiss it all on that basis. Now of course we can be arrogant, patronizing *******s to other countries militarily and politically but that shouldn't always be conflated with military = bad.

 

[spreedom]

From my perspective, as a very outspoken progressive, I just saw this and loved it. While I do agree that Michael Bay does tend to present things from a very conservative/unironic Team America point of view, I feel like this movie was pretty lacking in political heavy-handedness. Sure, there was the doofish boss who clearly represented "those spineless bureaucrats in Washington!"but generally speaking it seemed to me like any budgetary/security concerns were more or less presented as being blameless. There's one early-ish like where JBD (I think?) says something to the effect of "Uncle Sam is tightening his belt, we're all feeling it" or something like that, but we aren't ever given anything like "those cowards at the State Department refuse to help us!" which I was pretty worried we'd hear in droves.

Michael Bay, the least subtle film maker of all-time, managed to make a pretty apolitical movie, and I really respect and appreciate that... my expectation was going to be tons of blind/dumb patriotism. Somehow in 2016 Michael Bay made a character-driven, moderately budgeted character movie about a bunch of GI Joes. I really enjoyed it.

Also, even in a room full of square old white people, the Deadpool trailer went over like gangbusters.