Coluna Claquete - February, 23th 2016

 

Newton Ramalho

 

colunaclaquete@gmail.com - www.colunaclaquete.blogspot.com - colunaclaquete

Movie of the Week: "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi"

There is no surprise how United States engages in overthrowing the government of some country - and then see their citizens implicated in any undesirable situation. Well, if it is not new, at least can be used as movie theme, what is the case of "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi."

For decades, the Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron fist, and even suffering sanctions from Western governments, remained in a privileged position thanks to oil exports, abundant commodity in that country. However, after the violent civil war that broke out in 2011, Libya has become one more territory with many owners, and very dangerous for foreigners.

In this context, we find a group of six former American military hired by the CIA to provide security in an outpost in Benghazi, Libya's second largest city after the capital Tripoli. On site, 25 civilian employees of the agency do their best to get information, get informants, plan actions against the enemy, etc .. In fact, the least known is who is friend or enemy, as this confusing scenario is difficult to place things.

But as anything that is bad can really get worse, the American ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letscher) decides to pay a visit to Benghazi. What should be a discreet mission is widely publicized by the local press, and the place where the ambassador staying is a horror in terms of security, a fully probed mansion, and with only two men taking care of it.

The place becomes target of attack of an extremist group - it is not clear which one, the options are plentiful! The guards of CIA base want to intervene, but are prevented by the head of the base (David Costabile), concerned about the safety of its own staff.

The group of guards formed by Jack (John Krasinski), Rone (James Badge Dale), Tanto (Pablo Schreiber), Boon (David Denman), Tig (Dominic Fumusa) and Bub (Toby Stephens) and more Libyan interpreter Amahl (Peyman Moaadi) follow for a rescue mission, but it is too late.

As they know that the next target will be the basis of the CIA, the way back is also troubled, as groups seem want to help, and others want to attack - and no one knows who is who.

The following time is full of tension and struggle, with successive waves of attacks, heavy casualties of the attackers, but also some important among the reduced defenders. There is no air support or any other form of assistance the powerful American army, all far away or unable to provide any kind of support.

Michael Bay seems to have evolved since the time of Transformers, when he put so many special effects in the movies to the point that the viewer did not have the slightest idea of ​​what was happening on the screen. The action scenes of the current movie are very well done, conveying the tension from beginning to end. The nervous camera and frantic editing hinder rather in quieter scenes.

In relation to the central theme, we see that the Americans continue with his confused foreign policy, where economic motivations cause extreme disruption in the invaded countries, which are perpetuated ad infinitum, as seen in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya itself.

Of course the film is ideal for turning American heroes, even if it means killing hundreds of locals, who - we have to admit that - are fighting for their own country.

Just looking through the lens of cinema, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" is an interesting action movie, with a lot of tension, and that videogames style like Doom, Quake or Counter Strike, where the important thing is to eliminate as many enemies as possible.