"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" is about the Benghazi attacks that occurred on September 11, 2012, and resulted in the deaths of the U.S. ambassador and three others.  The American Consulate in Benghazi had been abandoned months prior, and the only American presence in the country was a CIA outpost that employed security personnel, the titular "secret soldiers" of the film. "13 Hours" focuses on the six men on the security team who endured 13 hours of battle that night. The movie gains some credibility since it's based on a book co-written by the survivors of the security team, so it's told by the men who were actually there.

There was a power vacuum in post-Gaddafi Libya, and people stole the dictator's trove of military weapons to fuel local gang wars.  However, since there wasn't anyone overseeing the bigger picture, the situation escalated without anyone being the wiser.  The station chief even tells the security force, "There is no danger here."

The movie suffers from a few basic weaknesses.  For one thing, it goes out of its way to be apolitical, so much so that the names of decision makers are omitted.  The station chief is just known as "Bob," and there's no mention of Hillary Clinton, secretary of state at the time, or President Barack Obama. Repeated requests were made for official reinforcements, but none ever arrived.  Although the question looms large in the audience's mind, the movie never explains why.

Another knock against the movie is that it's confusing. It's unclear whether that's purposefully being done to convey the confusion of the situation on the ground, or if it's the unintended result of poor writing,  directing and editing. For example, it's difficult to tell who's shooting from which rooftop, since all of the security personnel have beards, similar builds and are wearing dusty outfits.  The CIA operatives braved danger to meet a contact twice, but the movie doesn't explain who the contact is or why it was so important that they meet with him.  In one scene, a lot of cars show up at a gate, and the security team treats them as enemies.  The next scene shows the cavalry (three fellow security contractors) walking through the door.  Did these guys arrive in those cars, and it was all just a misunderstanding?  Or did these guys walk through a different gate, and the enemies are still lying in wait? 

Director Michael Bay is known for action sequences and explosions, and there's plenty of that in "13 Hours." While this is considered a war movie, there are only a couple of gruesome scenes; there are numerous scenes that illustrate good bullet physics, though.  Unfortunately for viewers who are prone to motion sickness, there's an abundance of shaky cam.  Bay takes pride in this being his most "real" film, and one bright spot is that he manages to weave a sense of tension and dread throughout the movie. A rooftop scene showed the security guys hanging out and joking around, and the audience was holding its collective breath, even though nothing happened. We were waiting for the other shoe to drop because danger always seemed imminent.

Most of the actors who comprise the security team (James Badge Dale, David Denman, Dominic Fumusa, Max Martini and Pablo Schreiber) have previously been cast in military roles, so this movie doesn't break any new ground for them.  However, this is extremely impressive for comedic actor John Krasinski ("The Office"), who bulked up for the role and is convincing in this dramatic turn. The subject matter may be difficult to digest, but the jokes and banter between the men adds some much-needed levity.

I've gone out of my way to not refer to the men as "soldiers" because they're former military who were contracted by the CIA to serve as a security team. That might not generate the same warm, fuzzy feeling since they were getting paid a pretty penny, but the fact of the matter is that when American lives were in danger, they ran into harm's way to save them, even though they weren't obligated to do so.

Ultimately, "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" is somewhat of a mixed bag.  It goes out of its way to avoid stepping on any political toes and doesn't answer any questions about why it happened, why nobody in the U.S. government reacted, and why security was so limited in such a dangerous area.  Although there are some confusing segments, a sense of tension is always present, and the acting is solid.  This is a tale of heroism, and while you may tear up during the credits, you will walk out of the movie piping mad and wondering why this was allowed to happen in the first place.

Score: 7.0/10

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" is rated "R" and has a running time of 2 hours and 24 minutes. It is playing in 2-D.