funkyryno

Watched this the other night. I'd give it a solid B, which is remarkable for a Michael Bay movie.

It was entertaining enough, and I felt like I learned a tiny bit about what happened in Benghazi (obviously, a highly dramatized version of events). I was expecting a more heavy-handed political statement from Bay, and was surprised when there wasn't more specific finger-pointing -- other than the CIA station chief, who was made out to be incompetent.

The cheesy, eye-rolling dialogue at the end was pretty terrible, though. It made me remember why all of Bay's movies are complete crap.

JimRochester

I agree. I thought it was well done so it surprised me too. From what I've seen, the only people who thought it was overly political were those that criticized it for it's portrayal of an attack and not a protest that escalated. But any accounts you read, that's what it was. The only report of a protest over a video was from the WH. There has never been any reference found or cited on social media referencing that video or a protest. Hillary referred to it as "an attack from an Al-queda like group" in emails to Chelsea and the UAE.

funkyryno

One thing did annoy me, though: At the end, the movie was dedicated to the two security contractors that died, but not to the dead ambassador or State Department technician. Apparently, you only get a pat on the back from Bay if you kill a bunch of bad guys before you die.

HN

wasn't that wall specific to those who died in service with/to the CIA? the ambo and IT guy weren't part of that. plus, you know it wasn't because they killed a bunch of bad guys b/c they didn't show glen killing anyone. he got there, took position, and got mortar-cammed.

OldBoy

contemplating the Vudu version with one 27 minute extra. $14.99 for a new release ain't bad, but still undecided...

funkyryno

Yes, the wall at Langley is specific to people who died in service with the CIA. At the end of the movie the camera zooms in on two stars on the wall and ends with ""For Rone and Glen." So maybe this wasn't the director dedicating the move to the two operators, maybe it was just explaining who the two stars were for. At the least it was just confusing to me. At the worst it was an insult to the sacrifice the dead ambassador and IT guy.

JimRochester

No matter how you look at it those two poor guys got screwed. First they weren't given proper consideration for the potential danger, then when the shit hit the fan they were left hung out to dry, and even the damn movie about their sacrifice glosses over them at the end.

HN

Oh yeah, wanted to reiterate this. I didn't care for his Chase on 24 but holy crap was he a bad mf'er here. He was pretty much Unrecognizable and sold the shit out of that part.

Bay should put him in the next Transformers or the inevitable TF / gijoe crossover.

clappj

JBD was also very good in the HBO mini-series "The Pacific." You should check that out, if you haven't already.

Decker

Just picked up the Blu Ray at Target. The price isn't that great - $19.99, but their exclusive version comes with a paperback of the entire book on which the story is based, at no additional price. Worth seeking out that version if you're near a Target today or tomorrow.

Why So Blu?

Borrowed the DVD from the library and it was ok. Glad it didn't beat you over the head with the political factors of the actual events. I didn't care for the usual melodramatic nonsense that Bay is compelled to inject into his films, though, and the typical slow motion shots of in certain scenes were annoying. Pain and Gain is still a better film in terms of filmmaking prowess.

Osiris3657

This didn't do much for me. I like other recent American-centric war films like Lone Survivor and American Sniper, but I just didn't feel a connection with this one. Hell I think I might even have liked Act of Valor more than this one. It was an empty experience, and kind of boring, despite the story itself being one that's inherently exciting. I think Bay just sucks at creating tension and drama. The action was OK, but the editing was alittle too chaotic at times. Had no idea what was happening on occasion.

I guess as a fan of The Office it was neat seeing Roy and Jim as teammates. I think that's the most enjoyment I got out of this film, ha.

JimRochester

I totally forgot Denman was in The Office.

If ever there was a disc screaming for extras, this was one. A good documentary or something about the real Benghazi. Now this has been purported to stay true to the source material from eyewitnesses, but you know Bay had to amp some of it up. Did the guy really turn right after he was told to turn left? Did they really have the run-in with the local and threaten him with a drone?

One thing that really bothered me from watching this. If they really did ask for a fly-over, why was one not granted? They had birds in Italy that easily could have scared the shit out of the bad guys. Maybe that questions can't be answered easily within the context of the movie?

Why So Blu?

Probably because they had no authority. The only authority anyone had there was the CIA bosses. The "soldiers" were all glorified security guards, as was mentioned in the film. They had no say in flyovers or anything else.

JimRochester

Today the Benghazi report was released and apparently the DoD did authorize military assistance but somewhere along the way there was a SNAFU and someone was afraid of hurting someone else's feelings, and red tape started coming out of people's asses. It sounded like what happened in 01. The right hand didn't know what the left hand was doing.

Maz Kanata

Watched this last night. Surprise. This is garbage.

lwhy?

I watched this last night, but I was surprised by how much I liked it. This has to be the best movie that Michael Bay has directed so far in his career. I thought John Krasinski was pretty good. I would have never thought he could hold his own in action movie, but he did.