I also recommend the movie, and I wouldn’t say that it was depressing overall. The valor of our men is the subject and their courage is outstanding, despite the odds. However, it is heart-breaking to be introduced to the four characters whom we know will die. Sean Smith has only a small role, but “Rone” (Tyrone Woods) has a large role.
What I remember is one of our men (Jack Silva perhaps) seeing an entourage of cars leaving all at once and wondering “Does anyone else get the sense that everyone knows what’s happening except for us?” The abandonment of the Libyan guards and the non-closure of the back gate makes us wonder if they were corrupt or incompetant (the same questions I ask of Hillary and Obama). The absence of the latter, in being mentioned and in their non-action, is telling.
I also wonder at the one line about those in the CIA annex....”Bob” (the “delaying” CIA “chief”) says that there are personnel from Harvard who need protection, and thus the delay sending the men to rescue Stevens. But what were those CIA people doing? The intelligence needed sounded like more than just gun running (although the allusion to guns is also in the film). And WHY haven’t we heard from those 26 people who were rescued by our men?
I read the book too and think the movie extremely well made. I was struck by the contrasts, of incipient violence with the young boys seen playing around as well as the beauty of 2-3 shots of Islamic architecture. The ripped cloth in “Zombieland” was also effective, as were the the views of the Benghazi women mourning their losses.
I recommend the film highly. It is violent but not as gory as it might have been.
I was told that the Libyan guards were from the local terrorist groups.
Who hired these guards ..?? They should never be allowed to be in charge of ANYTHING AGAIN.