MovieChat Forums > Black Hawk Down (2002) Discussion > Just seen an advanced screening of 13 ho...

Just seen an advanced screening of 13 hours


And without giving any spoilers away, I couldn't help but compare it to BHD.

Totally different story, but with very similar pressure cooking production quality. The story starts off tense, and builds until the final boil.

I do feel the action seems are the 2.0 of Black Hawk Down, Michael Bay does very well to make you believe every shot is skilled and real.

Anyway hope you guys get to see 13 hours. Instantly a very fond film for me

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I liked it a lot better than BHD. BHD I gave a 1 (I'd give it a 0 if I could) but I gave 13 Hours a solid 8. I have been very tough on Michael Bay but he did do a good job portraying the Benghazi incident and the soldiers involved. Probably the one time I will say that I preferred a Bay film over a Scott film.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

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All 13 Hours was "bullets and explosions" with has much character development as BHD! Besides Jack Silva's deeper character background showing his an expectant father what else do we know about the KIA US Ambassador or the Operators background from the Annex? 13 Hours probably had about 30+ US characters and all they did like BHD prior to the massive firefight for the whole movie was to videochat home on their computers whereas in BHD they were using Sat Phones as it was 1993. No difference at all!

If you are not willing to give up everything, you have already lost

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So the long and short...is '13 Hours' worth watching? Does it compare or come close to BHD?




Why can't you wretched prey creatures understand that the Universe doesn't owe you anything!?

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Well I personally find BHD as the best war movie for realism regardless what The Ultimate Idiot has to say. 13 Hours is your typical Michael Bay movie which has just as many bullets, explosions and burning fires everywhere as much as his Bad Boys 2 movie!

It shares a lot of common themes with BHD. It's basically first a rescue mission from the CIA Contractors who go to the US Diplomatic Outpost (debatable whether they were told by the CIA Chief to stand down and they ignored him) to snatch or defend Ambassador Stevens and two DS agents. It then turns into a siege movie when the 6 contractors are forced back to their "secret" Annex whereby they have to defend from waves of attacks from a group of Islamic militants called Ansar al-Sharia.

Although they are heavily outnumbered, with their superior night time technology, experience and tactical advantage of shooting from the Annex building roofs they provide accurate sniper fire because they have NVGs and IR Designators on their rifles so they can pick off the attackers in the dark and also suppressive machine gun fire. Unfortunately later on accurate mortar fire kills two Americans. The cinematography, purpose built set and lighting of the night time "bullets and explosions" looks good to me.

In BHD it's all about getting back to the Pakistani Stadium Safe Zone, in 13 Hours it is getting everybody safely to Benghazi Airport for exfil. Also air support is a big issue in the film and in real life as they wanted a gunship or even a F-16 Show of Force flyover scrambled from Aviano Air Base in Italy that never came. Just like the Little Birds on strafing runs in BHD saved the Rangers/Delta lives in BHD.

As both were filmed in Morocco you'll recognise the ocean where the Black Hawks in BHD fly over, the big mosque and other parts of the city. The Ultimate Idiot says there's no character development in BHD however there is even less in 13 Hours yet he gives it an 8/10.  Worse than BHD, in 13 Hours we see only Jack Silva video chats with his family while the others talk sh.t/play games and get briefed before it turns into "bullets, explosions and fires" for the rest of the movie.

I'd give it a 7/10.

If you are not willing to give up everything, you have already lost

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You clearly don't know what your talking about, 13 Hours was not the perfect film but we at least got to know more about the people involved before the shooting started. We at least got an understanding of the moral dilemma that they faced (do they follow orders and stand down or do they disobey orders and go fight). The men actually interacted with each other, they at least talked about the situation in Libya, what was going on with them internally and the audience at least feels a connection with them, Black Hawk Down didn't do that. 13 Hours has it's problem, there is some of the infamous middle school humor that Michael Bay is known for inserted in, there are a ton of cliched slow motion shots, but it's still better than Black Hawk Down, and it told it's story better. I guess by your logic and the logic of everyone on this board it would seem that you aren't patriotic. The Benghazi incident was a REAL EVENT, 13 Hours told the story as it REALLY HAPPENED, none of the people in the movie were fabricated. Yes there are bullets, yes there are explosions but it's not your typical Michael Bay film, the fact that you compared it to Bad Boys 2 is very disrespectful and unpatriotic. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. Yeah we did get video chats of Silva with his family but that's a hell of a lot more than we got with BHD.

Why are you so incredibly defensive about this movie? If you like it great, I personally didn't like it and I explained why, the movie was all style over substance. I gotta say though it is grossly offensive that some people on this board would actually question my patriotism based on my opinion on a movie. I never once said anything negative about the people involved and let's be honest if you had to endure 10 minutes of what the people in Somalia or Benghazi had to endure you'd be crying for your mother and pissing yourself.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

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Yes there are bullets, yes there are explosions but it's not your typical Michael Bay film, the fact that you compared it to Bad Boys 2 is very disrespectful and unpatriotic.


There were just as much screentime of "bullets, explosions and burning trees" as there were in Bad Boys 2! Honest and realistic, not disrespectful and unpatriotic!

You ought to be ashamed of yourself.


Nope I'm pretty proud of myself.

We at least got an understanding of the moral dilemma that they faced (do they follow orders and stand down or do they disobey orders and go fight)


Did you not get dilemma that Captain Steele had an argument with Delta Sgt Sanderson at the causality collection building about how he needed "shooters" to go with him to go to the Crash Site and Steele told him they were "combat ineffective"? I guess you missed that dilemma especially regardless of Sanderson being Delta and Captain Steele outranking him! What about the moral dilemma of Colonel Harrell in the C-2 helo approving the insertion of Gordon and Shughart into the Durant crash site?

13 Hours was not the perfect film but we at least got to know more about the people involved before the shooting started.


Bullsh.t all they did was video chat home (because it was 2012) just like in BHD the Delta Sniper Sgt Shughart used a Sat Phone to call home (because it was 1993) before stepping off. There were only SIX operators in the G.R.S. which is barely a FIRETEAM compared to a COMPANY 120+ soldiers and pilots in Operation Gothic Serpent!



If you are not willing to give up everything, you have already lost

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Wow, so you are pretty much willing to reduce these men's bravery and sacrifice to an explosion fest like Bad Boys 2, you are a real piece of garbage, I challenge you to join the military and see how long you last, I promise you you would be crying for your mother within a matter of weeks, you are gutless you are a coward. Those brave men in Benghazi were basically left to die yet they still fought with honor and courage, something you are completely oblivious to.

Did you not get dilemma that Captain Steele had an argument with Delta Sgt Sanderson at the causality collection building about how he needed "shooters" to go with him to go to the Crash Site and Steele told him they were "combat ineffective"?


That was like 5 seconds of film.

What about the moral dilemma of Colonel Harrell in the C-2 helo approving the insertion of Gordon and Shughart into the Durant crash site?


Same as above

BHD the Delta Sniper Sgt Shughart used a Sat Phone to call home (because it was 1993) before stepping off.


Dude they DIDN'T EVEN TALK! OMG you are brainless. I already stated how the film could have been better, there are apparently deleted scenes which involve a sub-plot where the soldiers are questioning whether they should even be there and whether it is really their fight and that would have really added some emotional weight when they still went into the battle to save their fellow soldiers, but of course that was deleted so they could have more explosions.

There were only SIX operators in the G.R.S. which is barely a FIRETEAM compared to a COMPANY 120+ soldiers and pilots in Operation Gothic Serpent!


And here we go again, you continue to repeat yourself despite me proving you wrong every single time. BHD DIDN"T DEVELOP ANYONE! They didn't even try, they wanted to pack in as many explosions and gunfire as they could so they basically just skipped the story. You are a pretentious douche bag, you are acting like this movie is so deep because there were 120 soldiers but the film never took the time to let the audience get to know a single person. I have asked you on countless occasions name one person in BHD who we got to know as well as any of the men out of SPR and you have deflected and dodged every single time. That tells me that you don't have an answer to the question, that tells me that you have lost.

"I really wish Gia and Claire had became Tanner" - Honeybeefine

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[deleted]

I know there's no accounting for taste, but dude... your whole comment is depressing.

_____
"I think working around a bunch of nurses is giving you a false sense of your ability to intimidate."

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I'm gonna say they're equals. Both did the boots on the ground justice. Only problem i had with BHD was no mention of SEALs being there in the prologue describing the timeline leading up to the battle. Minor detail though.

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I saw 13 Hours yesterday and just finished BHD. I prefer 13 Hours. Why? 13 had less characters so I got to know the men, their backgrounds and their families so much more and became more invested emotionally in them. The only confusion was three of the characters looked so much alike Toby Stephens, Max Martini and James Badge Dale in their full beards. I was much older and knew the events of the attacks and its outcome. As for BHD, I was only 8 years old when it happened in real life. I didn't understand why were we there to begin with and still don't to this day. Both films have an excellent cast but like I said I became much more invested emotionally in the characters in 13 Hours.

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