The trailer for Michael Bay’s latest is online, and it looks more grounded and immediate than what we normally associate with the director. It tells the story of the 2012 Benghazi conflict through the eyes of six Special Forces soldiers on the ground when it happened.
Aside from some light military fetishism, there’s not a lot of Bayness on display here. Not seeing any movie stars, just James Badge Dale and (curiously) John Krasinski. Not seeing any slo-mo glamour shots or goofy one-liners. And I’m definitely not seeing an anthropomorphic car pissing on an esteemed character actor.
It seems more like BLACK HAWK DOWN or LONE SURVIVOR than the stuff we usually associate with the director, and it reaffirms the notion that he’s best when pulled in and restrained a little bit (BAD BOYS 2 notwithstanding). As goofy as it seems to see John Krasinski aim a sidearm at a dudes face, the trailer has an impact, and does feel like it has some of the intensity that made AMERICAN SNIPER such a big hit (which is likely not a coincidence).
There are a lot of partisan-tinged disagreements over what actually went down over there, but this film will hopefully do what ZERO DARK THIRTY failed to, which is to present an objective cinematic account of the tragedy without playing into either party’s agenda. Either way, I'm sure Bay blows shit up right good.
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI may or may not feature Krasinski mugging directly to the camera on January 15th.
