The Michael Bay directed action-thriller war drama 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is sure to turn a few heads when it sees theatrical release this Friday. Based on the book of the same name by Mitchell Zuckoff, the film is primed to tell the real-life tale of the events of September 11th, 2012 when an American diplomatic compound and CIA annex was attacked by terrorists in Benghazi, Libya.
Following in the tradition of such recent dramatizations of real-life accounts from the front lines of the American War on Terror in the Middle East, such as Clint Eastwood's American Sniper and Peter Berg's Lone Survivor, Bay's new film should offer military enthusiasts plenty of well-researched action to enjoy on the big screen, a fact that the latest featurette from Paramount Pictures can further attest to.
In the latest batch of behind the scenes footage featured above, Global Response Staff member Kristian "Tanto" Paronto is introduced to viewers as a hardened U.S. special services veteran whose firsthand experiences under the line of fire helped guide the filmmakers of 13 Hours in crafting a film narrative that was simultaneously accurate and entertaining. Standing alongside his fictional counterpart in the film, played by actor Pablo Schreiber of Orange is the New Black, "Tanto" makes for a disarming and affable soldier who exudes a can-do attitude that will no doubt translate into a character in the film that is accordingly equipped of a self-assured modesty.
Backed by a script from The Strain screenwriter Chuck Hogan, Bay and company should be able to honor "Tanto" and his fellow special services veterans in the making a modern war drama with all of the hyperbolic flourishes and aesthetic grandiosity that the notorious action movie director is known for. And based on all appearances provided by Paramount Pictures, "Tanto" is a more than worthy real life hero to receive his own cinematic avatar on the big screen.
If the latest international trailer for the new film serves any form of indication, it would appear as though Bay has everything on the set of his new film in order, and 13 Hours should be a memorable contemporary war drama to rival the likes of American Sniper. Even as the controversy that surrounded Eastwood's last effort at imbuing some kind of national patriotism into the proceedings of a highly divisive moment of international diplomacy was met with more than a few carefully aimed critical barbs, Bay could enjoy a modest success with this latest cinematic depiction of the War on Terror if he plays his cards right.
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi will see theatrical release on January 15th, 2016.