13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (also known simply as
13 Hours) is a 2016 American
biographical political-
action and
war thriller film directed and co-produced by
Michael Bay and written by
Chuck Hogan, based on
Mitchell Zuckoff's
2014 book
13 Hours. It follows six members of a security team, who fight to defend the American diplomatic compound in
Benghazi,
Libya, after waves of
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2012, as told by Zuckoff in his book. The film stars
James Badge Dale,
John Krasinski,
Max Martini,
Toby Stephens,
Pablo Schreiber,
David Denman,
Dominic Fumusa,
Freddie Stroma, and
Alexia Barlier. Filming began on April 27, 2015 in
Malta. The film was released on January 15, 2016, by
Paramount Pictures. Although it claims to be a true story, the historical accuracy of the film has been criticized.