Since then, the Libyan people have lived a happy and free life? If you call happiness if there are countless armed thugs holding AKs wandering on the street at any time, and gunfights and explosions happen next to you, the Libyan people are really happy.
The Gaddafi government’s arms were lost to the civilian population, and the new government was unable to control the situation in remote areas. Libya was plunged into war. The situation in Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, was particularly complicated and dangerous. The United States, the initiator of all this chaos, has a secret base in Benghazi with its CIA. The Americans in this base are the protagonists of this film.
To talk about the local people's attitude towards the Americans, first of all, this group of rich and handsome men is worth robbing. Newcomer Jack arrived in Benghazi, and halfway back to the base, he was stopped in the street by a gang of militiamen with live ammunition. If he and Captain Ron were counseled, not only the car but also the underwear would be taken away.
The second is hatred. Not to mention the terrorist organizations that infiltrated overseas, many of the local people who have vested interests in the Gaddafi regime must hate the United States, and the civilians who have nothing, may also miss Gaddafi’s rule, because they In my mind, even a regime that implements tyranny but is powerfully unified is better than the current wars. What's more, it is well known by passers-by that the ultimate goal of the United States in instigating the United Nations air strikes to overthrow the Gaddafi regime is not for the well-being of the Libyan people, but Libya, which has abundant oil reserves, is in the hands of an uncooperative person. They need to support an obedient person. The ruler only came to power.
So looking at it from another angle, the local militia attacking the CIA base is a bit of a tragic meaning of the Boxer fighting against the Eight-Power Allied Forces.
It’s a pity that Michael Bay did not devote any care to these militiamen. These obscure beards have always appeared at the far end of the camera, speaking in Arabic that no one understands, pointing and peeping nervously and angrily. Charged in the dark, shot down and turned into corpses. Muslim women in black robes were crying on their bodies.
You can't know their motives, their psychological state, and if you don't understand them, you will naturally not sympathize with them. Perhaps Michael Bay’s American identity led him to adopt this position, but as a director who wants to make a great movie, doing so will only eclipse the film.
The core security force of the CIA base is a 6-man team led by Ron. This squad belongs to a private security company GRS, and its members are former SEALs and special forces members. It doesn't sound like a mercenary. They and the base are purely the relationship between employees and employers. So Bob, the base director, doesn't treat them as his own, and speaks harshly at each other. When Jack and Bob were trapped on the road requesting support, Bob refused to send the remaining team members; the team member Tanto was tired and dozed off at the ambassador’s speech, in exchange for a violent reprimand from Bob. His original words were " No matter how unprofessional you are, there will be 10 people to take your place, and you can go back to your hometown to be your security consultant." The subtext is that I know that you come here to work only for a high salary, not like I am to serve the country.
A civil servant finds that a man who does physical work earns more than him. Can you bear it?
The biggest incentive for every security team member to come to this dangerous place thousands of miles away from home is of course money. If Jack's business does not fail, he will not appear here, as mentioned in the film. Therefore, they cannot enjoy the honorary awards for meritorious service, and they will not be buried in the state if they die in battle. They only need to fulfill the obligations stipulated in the contract. At other times, it does not matter to them. Finally, they can return home safely and reunite with their relatives to achieve their goal.
Then when the US temporary embassy next to the base was attacked, the security team offered to rescue it, and the base director Bob was dumbfounded. How can these selfish, brainless muscular men who come to pan for gold be so brave? His answer is no authorization, no. Even if he knows that this force is the fastest, he may be the only team that can help. His response was to summon a local partner-February 17th Brigade.
The 17th Brigade on February was harder to summon than the Shenlong. It only appeared at the end of the film, and once it appeared, it was very powerful, a long team. It gives me the feeling that they have to gather people before they can get out of the team, and there are too many people to make themselves courageous, otherwise they dare not go out. The fighting of African troops is like the gang fights in old-fashioned Hong Kong movies. It is compared to the number of people, but the gangsters are at least bloody. This group of people are as timid and do not know what loyalty is. They may not even have a sense of the country. Showcasing their might, like a gang of wild dogs, they will go up to looting when they see a rabbit, and they will run away watching the wind when they see a tiger.
But Benghazi is the site of these wild dogs. The six-member security team are all tigers, but they are isolated and helpless. Every car may be loaded with a bomb, every civilian may be carrying a weapon. In addition to speech barriers, they will panic when they leave the base, and feel the danger of being overwhelmed by the vast ocean of People’s War at any time.
The 6-member group risked being fired and resisted and began rescue operations. I have to admire the tactical qualities of the American soldiers. There are only 6 people in total. They are also divided into two teams to enter from the front and rear doors respectively. This is also a manifestation of absolute confidence in the combat effectiveness of the individual soldiers and mutual trust.
Missed the prime time for rescue, the ambassador was missing. Returning to the base, everyone faces a grim reality, and the base is likely to be the next target of the attack.
Next is the highlight of the film, which Michael Bay is best at, the Bay's Fireworks Conference, which is the offensive and defensive battle of the CIA base.
If you ignore the cruelty of deaths and injuries, the war scenes taken by Michael Bay are very pleasing to the eye. The scene is a unilateral massacre by the Americans. Six former American elite fighters were condescending, wearing night vision goggles to see the battlefield unobstructed. The German Koch rifles in their hands were woven into a death barrage, harvesting the lives of militiamen. They either fight individually, or follow instructions to carry out concentrated fire attacks on certain important targets, such as passenger cars loaded with bombs and fire points of tall buildings on the opposite side. The flashes of battlefield fires reflected the face of a frightened militiaman; a bullet passed through the window of an abandoned car and accurately hit the head of the militiaman whose RPG muzzle was facing the ground, before the militiaman died. Pressing the trigger, the rocket bounced to the feet, blowing up a group of comrades in arms.
The Libyan militias who launched the death charge pose no threat to the base at all, until they brought heavy weapons-mortars. Michael Bay played with the special effects he played in "Pearl Harbor". From the perspective fixed on the tail of a mortar shell, the camera tracked it flying out of the barrel, rushing into the cool night sky, and reaching the highest point. A smasher pierced down and screamed towards the roof where Ron was.
"God, heaven and hell are all in your heart." Ron's past is even more unbearable. Jack and Ron had a brief and peaceful chat on the battlefield. It was revealed from the side that Ron had divorced once. At that time, he "dedicated to a great career" (serve the country). His child was raised by another man. Now he Probably remarried, and then another child was born. This is his "second chance." Americans value second chance, similar to our prodigal son. Now Ron's great career has left him, he is now working for money, and then he died here.
Jack also reflected on "Why am I here"? I don't understand this anymore. You are not a soldier in the army. You were deployed here in obedience to orders. Did you come voluntarily? ? Maybe he wasn't asking why he was here. He asked why the United States represented by the CIA is here, Libya, and Africa. Why did the United States intervene in an alien war thousands of miles away? Why did these people lose their lives here, whether for money or for serving the country? This is what he doesn't understand.
After the battle, everyone evacuated safely to the airport. The deceased are long-lived, and the living are often sorrowful. Michael Bay resorted to a sensational trick again. He gave me several backlit silhouettes of American soldiers standing alone.
Although the rest of his life was left behind, his heart was ashamed.
There is never a victor in war.
In the tragic soundtrack, Jack's off-screen sound played, and he said Ron told me, "God, heaven and hell are in your heart".
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