From a technical perspective, maybe the best looking and sounding Bay film to date. The action is insanely intense, beginning to end. The shot length is much longer than normal. He employs a lot of build, and when the weaponry starts being deployed, it's incredibly impressive stuff.

The actors are strong, too. It's all rote character stuff, but James Badge Dale, John Krasinski and the rest-- all charismatic.

People saying it's "apolitical" are... well, wrong. It contains some token "the Libyans mourned the ambassador too" lines, but for the most part, it's the same jingoistic Bay shit-- lines like "this is gonna end when they're all dead... or we are" obviously have double meanings to those who fear terrorism/Muslims/etc. Shots of kids shooting bullets into the American flag, etc. All standard Bay political stuff. Maybe he tries a little harder to balance the scale here... but it's still what it is.

Still, enjoyed it. Really intense, invests your emotions. Shameless manipulation, but expertly executed. Worth the time of anyone who digs combat on film-- this movie is basically combat porn.

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