I was a bit nervous choosing to watch this movie. Michael Bay being the director, I couldn’t help but only think of Transformers part 2-6 where I can’t even stand to watch the trailers. Would he fudge this up also? I saw that the movie had been on Netflix for some time and it was recommended by two friends that have a pretty good sense of movies and who know me. I say “who know me”, because lately I have been very sensitive on who produces or who is acting in movies and I hate it that I think this way!  I understand people have different points of view in politics and religion, but it just feels like sometimes these opinions cause division and I find myself not wanting to see movies with certain actors. Was it always like this? This is especially true with military movies that may represent soldiers in an unappealing light. Yes, there are horrors that have happened during wars, but because this was a modern war involving the Obama administration, I was very afraid they would politicize the movie. To my surprise, they didn’t in the way I was expecting. Throughout the whole movie, they never mentioned any of the leadership involved. But silence and inaction can be fairly loud during a crisis and this is more what was ringing in my ear as the movie finished.

I wish I had seen the movie with my husband because he would have been able to explain a little more of the scenario for me and would OF COURSE point out any errors in tactics or praise whenever something was acted out correctly. But from what I gathered, the CIA had an operation in Benghazi about a mile or two from where the American ambassador was staying. When they found out the ambassador’s home was being attacked they were told to stand down and then eventually went and helped out. The CIA base was then attacked. For 13 hours the small force within the CIA base stood their ground. The lack of help from our government is resounding.  I also found it so frustrating the inability to know who was “friendly” or not. How difficult to have to fight an enemy that isn’t a certain nationality, but who has a different and dangerous set of beliefs in his mind. Several died and by the end of the movie the ringing silence of American torpidity echoed.

The acting is just great and heartfelt even funny at times. John Krasinski as Jack Silva was incredible. These kinds of movies really help me to understand just a little bit what my husband went through during his tour in Iraq. This movie was stirring and I loved it.

Recommendations: I recommend this movie to those in our armed and military forces. I believe those with more of a conservative view on politics would enjoy this movie. Young men and teenage boys would probably like this movie also. There are some pretty awesome techy weapons used in the movie they would appreciate.

To the Christian: The movie does have a lot of gore especially towards the end. There are swear words. There is no nudity or sex in the movie, except for two bunnies mating in a video one of the guys is watching. The scene is really short. Some questions I would ask after the movie would be, “How do you determine what is right or wrong in a tense situation?”, “Where do we draw the line on helping other countries?”, “What is God’s role in all of this?” This movie is rated R.