Based on the 2014 historical action book by American author Mitchell Zuckoff 13 Hours is film based around the events of an attack by Islamist militants on an American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012 and looks at the event from the view of six members of a security team working in a nearby CIA outpost that supposedly doesn’t exist.

When a US ambassador Chris Stevens (Matt Letscher) is scheduled to visit the compound the security team inspect the area and are appalled to see a complete lack of protection on offer and when they learn that the supposed secret visit is to take place on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and is actually public knowledge to the immensely dangerous and unstable local populous they voice their concerns to their boss ‘The Chief’ (David Costabile) but he is dismissive in reminding the security team that they are here to protect the base and not the compound but when the inevitable attack occurs the security team decide to take matters into their own hands and attempt to rescue Stevens highlighting the fact that they are in the area which in turns the enemy eyes in their direction.

All the leads done their part plus it was nice to see John Krasinski as Jack Silva in a non-comedic role and he more than held his own as a co-lead but it was James Badge Dale who stole the show for me as Tyrone Wood, a man who wants nothing more than to return home to his family yet is filled with a sense of duty to protect his fellow countrymen above all else.

But at the end of it all I was still looking at a Michael Bay movie and while it is one of his best efforts, in the hands of another director this could have been a classic as there were elements which reminded me very much of Black Hawk Down, some of the action sequences were excellent and there was a sense of history and personality given to the main characters that is usually omitted from a Bay movie. However, despite all this the sense of desperation and dread which was undoubtedly felt by all those involved never really came across on screen to any great effect so unlike the classic movie of this genre I still always felt like I was watching a movie and it never dragged me in to where I left like part of the action, and yes, there are still a number of long, sustained, American flag shots, it is Michael Bay after all!

Although far from perfect and despite the supposed controversy of how close to the truth it may have been it was certainly one of the more enjoyable ‘war’ movies of recent times, off hand I can only think of Fury and Sole Survivor which I enjoyed more and there is a while a little long at nearly two and a half hours it is well worth a look if you missed it upon initial release.

DJ Speaks: 6 out Of 10