13 Bombs

Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (IFFR) 2024. After the screening I scored 4 out of 5 for the audience award. In hindsight, should have been 3 because of the generous running time of nearly two and a half hours, unnecessary to get the story lines across and overly stressing our patience.

Other minus points are (a) over-reliance on crypto currency as a novel plot element, a frivolous attempt to attract new audience, plus (b) introducing whizz kids who seem to be able to do the impossible whatever device or system is put in front of them. As an ex-IT-er, I consider the latter next to impossible, especially in the finale where cables from network switches and routers are pulled in a particular order, to prevent a virus from spreading, for the layman (m/f) possibly spectacular but very unrealistic.

Peeling this off, we get a standard action movie under the hood: ample car chases, heavy weaponry, explosives, many innocent bystanders and even some less innocent victims. Bringing in crypto currency and terrorism do not save the story from being traditional. Yet, some new elements make this movie stand out:

1. Firstly, the cause the terrorist group is fighting for, is defendable and just. A pity that their means are despicable. Their back stories are sad but not sufficient to justify all the bloodshed. In hindsight, their benevolent motives are foreshadowed by the fact (later on we understand them better) that the armored car that is attacked in one of the first scenes, is left open for anyone passing by to pick from. A nice "Robin Hood" touch.

2. Secondly, the two whizz kids who are pulled in, add extra plot material and act as a third group besides the anti-terrorist agency and the terrorists. Does it make the plot convoluted enough to fill nearly 150 minutes running time?? The traditional distinction between good and bad guys is not as clear cut as usual, which is not a complaint but rather a positive element.

3. Thirdly, the effectiveness of the chain of command in the agency leaves much to desire. Even worse, it works counter productively in the long run. Relieving someone of duty due to a defendable mistake, may seem to demonstrate a firm grip on the operation, but it is a waste of human potential and can only create disgruntled employees who eventually may work against the agency's mission.

All in all, the action parts make it watchable for people "in" for this kind of movie, while others (like me) can only endure the explosions, the gun fire, the car chases, the bloodshed, and so on. Still, this movie has some other nice parts that make it better than the average shootout.