18/09/2026
Action Packed: Special Operations And Counter-Terrorism Movies
1. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi is a 2016 American biographical action-thriller film, directed and produced by Michael Bay. Written by Chuck Hogan, it is based on the 2014 non-fiction book 13 Hours by American author Mitchell Zuckoff. The film follows six members of the Annex Security Team who fought to defend the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya after waves of attacks by militants on September 11, 2012.
In 2012, following the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Benghazi is named one of the most dangerous places in the world. While several countries have pulled their embassies out of Libya in fear of an attack by militants, the U.S. still has a diplomatic compound open in the city. Less than a mile away is a CIA outpost called the Annex, which is protected by a team of private military contractors from Global Response Staff (GRS).
New to the detail is Jack Silva, who arrives in Benghazi and is picked up by Tyrone "Rone" Woods, commander of the GRS team and a personal friend of his. Arriving at the Annex, he is introduced to the rest of the GRS team and the CIA Chief-of-Station, who constantly reminds them never to engage the citizens.
The U.S. Ambassador Stevens arrives in Benghazi to maintain diplomatic connections amidst the political and social chaos. Despite warnings, he decides to stay at the Special Mission with limited protection from a pair of Diplomatic Security (DS) agents, Wickland and Ubben, and guards hired from the local February 17th Martyrs Brigade militia, nicknamed "17-Feb".
On the morning of the eleventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Stevens notices suspicious men taking pictures of the compound and notifies his security detail. Back at the Annex, Silva finds out that his wife is pregnant. That night, a group of militants from Ansar al-Sharia assault the compound. The 17-Feb guards quickly surrender their posts, allowing the attackers easy access to the Special Mission compound.
2. Extraction is a 2020 American action thriller film directed by Sam Hargrave and written by Joe Russo, based on the 2014 graphic novel Ciudad. It is the first installment in the Extraction franchise. The film stars Chris Hemsworth, Rudhraksh Jaiswal, Randeep Hooda, Golshifteh Farahani, Pankaj Tripathi and David Harbour.
Ovi Mahajan Jr., son of incarcerated Indian drug lord Ovi Mahajan Sr., sneaks out of his house to attend a party with his friend. At the party, corrupt police officers working for rival Bangladeshi drug lord Amir Asif shoot and kill Ovi Jr.'s friend and kidnap him.
Saju Rav — a former lieutenant colonel in the Indian Army Para Special Forces and Ovi Jr.'s guardian — visits Ovi Sr. in prison. Unwilling to pay the ransom or surrender his territories to Amir as it will hurt his prestige, Ovi Sr. orders Saju to retrieve his son, threatening to kill Saju's son if he is unwilling to do so.
Tyler Rake, a former Australian Army SASR operator turned mercenary, is recruited by his handler and fellow mercenary, Nik Khan, to save Ovi Jr. from Dhaka, Bangladesh, with Ovi Sr.'s men set to pay them once Ovi Jr. is recovered.
Tyler saves Ovi, kills his captors, and takes him to the extraction point. Asif orders the head of local police, Colonel Rashid, to initiate a lockdown of Dhaka, securing all bridges and travel points out of the city. Ovi Sr.'s men do not transfer the payment, as it is revealed that the authorities have frozen Ovi Sr.'s bank account; he had no means to pay the mercenaries in the first place, having tricked them into saving his son.
