CIA Spokesman Slams ’13 Hours’ as ‘Distortion’ of Benghazi Events

In this photo provided by Paramount Pictures shows Pablo Schreiber, from left, as Kris “Tanto” Paronto, John Krasinski as Jack Silva, David Denman as Dave “Boon” Benton and Dominic Fumusa as John “Tig” Tiegen, in the film, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” from Paramount Pictures and 3 Arts Entertainment/Bay Films.

Screenwriter Chuck Hogan (“The Town“) unfolds the story in procedural fashion, using every cliche imaginable. Some in attendance wore patriotic clothing. After the assault begins, a U.S. Special Ops team are sent to the annex to protect those still trapped within the compound. The movie shows the contractors waiting for more than 20 minutes before bucking orders and leaving to try to save Stevens and others. “You’re not competing with a lot of new blockbusters or big movies in January, and if this one does well it’s another example of a war film succeeding in the winter month”. “At no time did I ever second-guess that the team would depart”.

“Even if an unmentioned Hillary Clinton has nothing specific to worry about in regard to the film’s content, its mere existence will stir up fresh talk about her behavior regarding the incident”, Todd McCarthy writes in a review for The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie hits theaters today – just over two weeks ahead of the Iowa caucuses.

These guys know before anyone that the unofficial consulate housing Ambassador Christopher Stevens (Matt Letscher) just down the road from their base isn’t safe, and that the small security unit at the consulate won’t be able to defend the grounds under attack.

“Democratic primary front-runner Hillary Clinton on Sunday said she is too busy campaigning to see a movie depicting the 2012 terrorist attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya”. Under his command were the security team, known inside the agency as the Global Response Staff, as well as contract case officers with military experience and other USA personnel. Some of the early scenes establish what it was like for Americans in Benghazi at the time, the routines of their responsibilities for the Central Intelligence Agency base they were stationed at and glimpses of their relationships with each other and their interactions with some of the Central Intelligence Agency operatives.

“No one will mistake this movie for a documentary”, Tripani told the Post. For those who are counting on a political slant to this film, you will be disappointed.

“These guys were heroes”, he was quoted as saying by the Post.

“What it does is it allows people to get a proper visualization of what really happened, the hopelessness of America not responding”, Issa said in an interview after the movie.

We value thoughtful comments representing a range of views that make their point quickly and politely. In a movie set on a compound, we should have a better idea of the geography of the place, but in this film, we do not.

13 Hours lacks the emotional intensity of Black Hawk Down and tension of Zero Dark Thirty and at times it gets confusing in keeping up with what’s going on during the chaos of the battle. Even Bay’s hyper-edited shaky cam, which is somewhat annoying during that first hour of setup, is used to great effect here, reinforcing the feeling of disorientation and uncertainty these guys clearly have to work through.

13 Hours is at its worst when it goes into action mode, and we get all the touchstones of Bad Bay: Shaky-cam, complete incoherence, and no sense of where the characters are in relation to one another.

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