US Embassy Taken Down?

An embassy is not a military base. They're probably guarded by a couple dozen military soldiers max, and then everybody else are just office workers. They probably wouldn't be allowed to have much more. It really wouldn't be too hard. American embassies have been taken down before with far less. The embassy in the movie wasn't exactly a heavily guarded one either, it's permittee consisted of a smallish fence and there was a couple of guard boxes at the front, take out those 2 and you're half way there already.

Also the rebels were in their hundreds, maybe even 1000+. They also had helicopters and at least 1 tank. They also killed the president/prime minister. They also took down the 100s big police force with riot gear on and had weapons in 1 go.

Also sending in your military isn't as easy as you make it sound, you can't just send them into a warzone to save maybe 100 American civilians max. It isn't their country.

the rebels have AKs and at least one tank.

what does the embassy have, a hulk?

When you try to act knowledgable but really just look stupid.

Learn the definition of a plot hole.

Those six guys just went to set the bomb after the embassy was occupied. Clearly the embassy was taken in the beginning of the event, with thousands of people coming, SEAL Team wouldn't be able to do anything.
Just like Argo, you can't deploy your Armed Forces that fast, except in other movies of course.
And there's no US base in Southeast Asia.

Embassy staff is what: 100 people.

That nation has what: 10 million people.

Come on. I know that we all feel that Americans are all these military supermen but remember that we lost Vietnam before you were born and ran fleeing from that embassy, too.




"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness." - The Dalai Lama

In the modern age it happened in Benghazi and Yemen. I don't know if it's true or not, but reports at the time stated that the guards at Benghazi weren't allowed to have bullets. They carried guns and automatic weapons, but no bullets. I read also that guards and soldiers on military bases and recruiting stations aren't permitted to have weapons. I find it hard to believe, but with this clueless government nothing would surprise me.

I found it hard to believe that there were not existing CIA assets in the area. They would have been alerted/mobilized when the Prime Minister was assassinated. Clearly Hammond (Pierce Brosnan)and Kenny Rodgers would have been aware that the television stations and phone outages were at the very least suspicious. He probably would not have been singing Karaoke drunk that night in the bar.

What forces built the bamboo and tire walls around the Embassy? They seemed have a lot of time to prep them. If they were there before the Coup then I would think there would already be mobilized on site.

Hammond knew that the Cardiff guys always stayed at the Imperial Hotel. I would assume the US Embassy also knew. Given the hostilities over the water company transfer they would have evacuated them to the compound long before the initial riot in the streets.

The movie was exciting and frustrating in a good way. The embassy part was meh..