13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a 2016 American biographical action-thriller film, directed and produced by Michael Bay. Written by Chuck Hogan, it is based on Mitchell Zuckoff's 2014 book. The film follows six members of the Annex Security Team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya after waves of attacks by militants on September 11, 2012. The film stars James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Pablo Schreiber, Max Martini, David Denman and Dominic Fumusa, with supporting roles by Toby Stephens, Alexia Barlier and David Costabile. Filming began on April 27, 2015, in Malta and Morocco.
"13 Hours (film)" redirects here. For the 2010 British film, see 13Hrs. For the 2014 book on which the film is based, see 13 Hours (book).13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
- Michael Bay
- Erwin Stoff
- Pietro Scalia
- Michael McCusker
- Calvin Wimmer
- January 12, 2016 (AT&T Stadium)
- January 15, 2016 (United States)
144 minutes[1]
United States
English
$50 million[2]
$69.4 million[2]
Upon its release on January 15, 2016 by Paramount Pictures, 13 Hours grossed $69 million worldwide against a production budget of $50 million, becoming one of Bay's lowest-grossing films. It also received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its performances, action sequences, and dark tone, but criticized the script for historical liberties. Bay's direction also received a mixed response, with many criticizing his emphasis on over-the-top action, but some also noting it as one of his most mature and grounded films. 13 Hours received an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Mixing at the 89th Academy Awards.
Production[edit]
Development[edit]
On February 10, 2014, it was announced that Paramount Pictures was in talks with 3 Arts Entertainment to acquire the film rights to the book 13 Hours, written by Mitchell Zuckoff, with Erwin Stoff to produce.[12] Chuck Hogan was set to adapt the book, based on the true events of the Benghazi attack by militants on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, on the evening of September 11, 2012.[12] The film would focus on six members of a security team that fought to defend the Americans stationed there.[12] On October 29, 2014, Michael Bay was set to direct and produce the thriller.[13]
Casting[edit]
On January 14, 2015, John Krasinski was cast to play a leading role, playing a former US Navy SEAL.[3] On February 3, Pablo Schreiber also signed on to star in the film, playing Kris "Tanto" Paronto, one of the six-man security team.[8] On February 6, James Badge Dale was set to star, as the leader of the security team.[5] Max Martini was cast as another member of the security team on February 17, 2015.[6] David Denman signed on to star in the film on March 3, 2015, playing Boon, an elite sniper.[9] On March 5, 2015, THR reported that Dominic Fumusa also signed on, to play John "Tig" Tiegen, one of the members of the security team, who is also a former Marine with weapons expertise.[7] Freddie Stroma was added to the cast on March 17, 2015, to play the role of an undercover CIA officer in Libya.[10] On May 7, 2015, Toby Stephens was set to play Glen "Bub" Doherty, another of the security team members.[14]
Filming[edit]
Principal photography began on April 27, 2015, in Malta and Morocco.[9][15] A large film set was built in March 2015 in Ta' Qali, Malta at 35°53′58.9″N 14°25′42.6″E / 35.899694°N 14.428500°E.[16][17]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
13 Hours grossed $52.9 million in North America and $16.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $69.4 million, against a production budget of $50 million,[2] making it Michael Bay's lowest-grossing directorial film to-date.[27]
The film was projected to earn around $20 million in its four-day Martin Luther King weekend debut. It faced competition from fellow newcomer Ride Along 2, as well as holdovers The Revenant and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[28] Other films in a similar vein that had opened on the MLK weekend in previous years, American Sniper ($107.2 million in 2015) and Lone Survivor ($37.8 million in 2014), found success, although they had faced weaker competition, and were considered less politically divisive.[29] However, The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film could outperform expectations if it was buoyed by waves of patriotism.[29] The film made $900,000 from 1,995 theaters during its Thursday previews and $16.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing fourth at the box office.[30] The film added 528 theaters in its second weekend and grossed $9 million, a 39.8% drop.[31]
Critical response[edit]
13 Hours received mixed reviews from critics, though some viewed it as a welcomed tame effort from Michael Bay.[32][33][34][35][36] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 51% based on 222 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The site's consensus reads, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a comparatively mature and restrained effort from Michael Bay, albeit one that can't quite boast the impact its fact-based story deserves."[37] On Metacritic the film has a score of 48 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[30][39]
Soren Andersen, writing for The Seattle Times, gave the film 3 stars out of 4, criticizing the lack of distinctive characters but ultimately summarizing 13 Hours as "engrossing" and "a ground-level depiction of heroism in the midst of the fog of war".[40] Richard Roeper similarly praised 13 Hours in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times. Although he lamented the script, Roeper found the film to be a "solid action thriller with well-choreographed battle sequences and strong work from the ensemble cast".[41] Like Roeper's review, New York Daily News' Joe Dziemianowicz was less receptive toward the script, but applauded the film's focus on the real-life attack, summarizing: "War is gritty here, not glamorous... [Michael Bay] delivers a gripping, harrowing, and heartfelt film."[42]
In a mixed review, Inkoo Kang of TheWrap praised 13 Hours for its action scenes, but panned Bay's direction as "myopic". She writes, "13 Hours is the rare Michael Bay movie that wasn't made with teenage boys in mind. But that doesn't make his latest any less callously juvenile."[43] Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press was critical of the film's direction and cinematography, and found the screenplay to be confusing.[44] Similarly, The Economist described the film as "a sleek, poorly scripted and largely meaningless film".[45]
Libyan response[edit]
The film caused controversy in Libya.[46][47] Many Libyans believed it ignored the contributions of local people who attempted to save the US ambassador.[48] Libya's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Salah Belnaba, denounced the film's portrayal of the Libyan people and described it as "fanatical and ignorant."[49] Culture and Information Minister, Omar Gawaari, also criticized the film saying: "the movie shows the US contractors who actually failed to secure the ambassador [...] as heroes", adding that Michael Bay "turned America's failure to protect its own citizens in a fragile state into a typical action movie all about American heroism".[48][49][50]
Accolades[edit]
At the 89th Academy Awards, 13 Hours received a nomination for Best Sound Mixing.[51] However, Greg P. Russell (one of the four nominees from the film) had his nomination rescinded when it was discovered that he had contacted voters for the award by telephone in violation of campaigning regulations.[52]
Historical accuracy[edit]
The film's historical accuracy has been disputed. In the film's most controversial scene, the CIA chief in Benghazi (identified only as "Bob") tells the military contractors there when they seek permission to go defend the embassy to "stand down" and thus denies them permission. The real-life CIA chief stated that there was no stand-down order.[53] However, no help was sent even though officials at the highest levels had found out about the attack within the first few hours out of the 13. Also, the National Review commentator David French argues that the Senate committee cited above found plenty of evidence of the "stand down" order in the form of personal testimony from multiple witnesses but chose to rule that the contrary testimony outweighed it.[54]
Kris "Tanto" Paronto, a CIA contractor who was involved in action during the event, said, "We were told to 'stand down'. Those words were used verbatim—100 percent. If the truth of it affects someone's political career? Well, I'm sorry. It happens."[55] The CIA base chief portrayed in the film has directly contradicted Paronto's claims, saying "There never was a stand-down order.... At no time did I ever second-guess that the team would depart."[56]
Also disputed is the film's portrayal that air support was denied. A House Armed Services Committee report found that air support was unavailable or that it would have arrived too late to make a difference.[45]