The second trailer for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi announces from the beginning that this is a serious Michael Bay movie through the use of OCR-A, the sternest of fonts. A dour-faced James Badge Dale and his fellow bearded CIA contractors (including John Krasinski) see the looming threat to the Libyan embassy, but their boss is played by David Costabile, so you know he’s going to be a serious roadblock. Soon, things go sideways inside the embassy, and the six contractors make the decision to fend off further attacks after ambassador J. Christopher Stevens is killed. Their actions prevented further loss of life, and yet are often overlooked in the politically-charged aftermath.
Bay’s interpretation of events is marked by perfectly framed explosions, glistening artillery, shrapnel dancing in slow motion, and credulity-straining dialogue like, “if you don’t send air support, Americans are going to die… including the one talking to you right now.” The result is that 13 Hours is elevated from national tragedy to a pretty kickass-looking entry in the Call Of Duty franchise.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi will eat bravery and crap mortar explosions when it sets up a defensive perimeter around theaters January 15.