In real life, the events that occurred in Benghazi on September 11, 2012 quickly moved into the realm of political theater. For those on the left, it seemed as if the tragic events were being used to score political points. For those on the right, it was another example of incompetence from the executive branch. Somewhere in the middle lies the truth. With 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, it is very unlikely that the truth will find its way on the screen. What transpired on that day in 2012 will now become the latest film from Michael Bay. The director best known for his oppressively jingoistic Transformers films has always had a rightward tilt to his politics, or at least as presented in the cinema. But what is almost assured is that Bay’s film will likely avoid anything resembling political nuance. It gives me that same feeling of dread as Oliver Stone‘s upcoming Snowden.
The film stars James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini, and Pablo Schreibe. Bay will be directing a script by Chuck Hogan, creator of The Strain, based on the book by Mitchell Zuckoff. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi opens January 15th, 2016.
