Ghosts of Beirut (2023) User Reviews

Chilling viewing, for surprising reasons!

[npvarley · 8/10 · 5 June 2023]

Well, it seems that some people can't grasp that this is a dramatisation, based on real events, that took place in Beirut in the mid-80s. The facts that the some of the actual people involved in the incidents are talking about them at various points in each episode seems to have also passed them by.

The characters are well-drawn by the actors and it soon becomes clear that, at this time, many in the CIA were thoroughly incompetent when it came to understanding what was happening with the development of many radical Muslim groups in the Middle East. Most of them were completely clueless about what was going on Iran and how that was fomenting radicalism in Lebanon.

This is a very interesting miniseries that demonstrates the level of incompetence in the upper levels of the CIA.

Complicated terrorist crime drama well worth checking out

[paul-allaer · 7/10 · 20 May 2023]

As "Ghosts of Beirut" (2023 release; 4 Episodes of about 50-55 min each) opens, we are reminded that this mini-series is a "Fictional Account of Deeply Researched Events". We are in "Southern Iraq, January 20, 2007" and four SUV's brazenly enter a US base and kidnap several US military. We switch to the "CIA Tactical Headquarters" when a CIA agent claims that the kidnapping has all of the hallmarks of being orchestrated by Imad, the long sought after terrorist. We then switch to "Beirut 1982" where we get to know the young Imad. At this point we are less than 15 minutes into Episode 1.

Couple of comments: I can't recall ever having seen a movie or TV series with the disclaimer of being a "fictional account of deeply researched events". Do you? Of course, plenty of "based on" or "inspired by" or some such, but this particular wording? No. I have no idea how closely to the actual facts this mini-series sticks, As Episode 1 played out, it took me quite a while to figure out exactly what was going on. Many, many characters to sort out. Also what role exactly the US was playing in Lebanon in the early/mid 80s. By the end of Episode 1, though, things were much clearer, at least as far as figuring out the plot. Looking forward to seeing how it plays out from here.

"Ghosts of Beirut" started streaming on the Showtime app yesterday (Friday), and Episode 1 will actually be shown on SHO TV tomorrow (Sunday). The remaining 3 episodes will be released over the next 3 weekends. If you have any interest on geopolitical events in general, or in the Middle East in particular, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.

Great series

[zyjzydtd · 8/10 · 19 June 2023]

Good acting although the Middle East topic was and still is very very complicated, I feel that there was not enough data about mugniyeh, his background, his extreme ruthlessness that is not depicted enough, for example there is a story about him burning alive a three year old child of a south Lebanese Israeli collaborator.

Where he grew up, how he met Hassan nasserallah. So the series is good acting is good but they could've added two episodes at least for a more gripping intriguing story.

The amount of stories about the Middle East can be made to an entire season, Meir Dagan R. I. P the head of mossad then was quite a fascinating man himself.

Exceptional mini series

[ionutnaidin · 10/10 · 31 August 2023]

All about this mini series is great: the cast, the details of the story and how it is told, the scenography, the distribution, everything.

The 4 episodes are just the right pick in length not missing details and telling a story in an excellent fashion way. This one is a true story but stylized for a better story on screen. Now running on skymovies.

This is a must watch for everyone who loves history/espionage/thriller genres.

This should be at least a 8+ on imdb. It's comparable with the best movies/mini series on the same type of action, daring to say that is in top 5 mini series about terrorism/spy genres.

It's not a matter of "getting better"...

[suzpomz · 10/10 · 21 May 2023]

The only review on the page so far is titled "Maybe it gets better, maybe"... Believe me when I say, it does NOT "get better". This is NOT a made-up drama - this is REAL LIFE and real life often does NOT "get better".

I have lived in Israel for most of the past 42 years (29 as a citizen) and was in Israel in 1981 & 1982 when what you saw in Episode 1 actually happened. While I was in Canada when the US Embassy was bombed and Robert Ames was killed and in the USA when the US Marine Barracks in Beirut was bombed, I remember it all like it was yesterday, since so much of "it" continues.

The production is an interesting concept - with actors playing the parts of what are, for me, well-known, recognizable people, such as Imad Mughniyeh and Robert Ames - but also with real experts who were either there or involved in some way describing the situation and the people involved.

I am looking forward to the other three episodes to see if they match my memories... And by the way, with all the hatred directed towards Israel and the almost constant attacks on our population (I have lived in Jerusalem through the First and Second "Intifadas" and still today), I still feel safer here than anywhere else I have lived, including several locations in the United States!

Dina Shihabi

[christopherbellman · 10/10 · 13 June 2023]

What a tremendous look back at some very important events in the ongoing horror that is Israel and their surrounding Arab enemies.

The enmity and hatred between the Jewish state and Iran, The Lebanon and American assistance to Tel Aviv and Israel is well displayed here. The pure love between Imad and his lovely wife cut deep throughout the series. I found it to be a marvelous juxtaposition between the love and loathing that is on display throughout this short but amazing series.

The amazing actress Dina Shihabi and her character is mesmerizing, entrancing, absorbing and demands the camera. She is enthralling with her lovely voice, hair and pure intelligence and empathy. I found myself pausing the show and going back to her and her scenes. She is thrilling!

Highly recommend this show to everyone. You most certainly will not regret it.

This line is so apropos imo regarding the ongoing hell that is the state of Israel, the USA and all the nebulous nefarious and righteous activities of their rivals and friends in the roiled region of tumult and turbulence. 'In the turmoil of knowledge, insanity abides.' I long ago decided to pay as little attention to the horrors there as possible. It is so sad and sorrowful and does not seem to ever ever end because an ending of it is impossible or may be the next WWIII flashpoint and the end of all things within that region.

I want to end this review with, "Peace out", but I can't for obvious reasons. May all the deities bless you all. Shokran.

Not one Lebanese was in the series

[joektabet · 1/10 · 3 June 2023]

As a series about Lebanon not one actor/invited speaker is from there which says a lot about the credibility of the series.

Telling a story from one side is always a bad idea and hypocritical.

A lot of events does not make sense, and the depiction of the Lebanese culture is way off.

Try to tell the full story from both sides before claiming that the events are based on "deeply researched events" Disappointing unfortunately, not saying they are lies, but there are a lot of controversy on the way the story is told.

Watch it but make sure to do some research about that time before jumping into conclusions.

Humanizing a monster, with bad acting.

[qbjqxxmvq · 5/10 · 2 May 2024]

I have tons of respect for Lior and Avi, and I get that they wanted to show the whole picture of Imad. But let's face it - the man was a monster. His forces were responsible for murdering so many innocent people and later united with Assad who murdered so many Syrians. We can show that he has a private life but the story wasn't balanced. They didn't show how his actions affected civilians but showed him as a civilian all the time.

As a show, the acting (apart from the actor who played Imad) was horrendous. It was like me reading this review out loud in a monotone voice. This is the network that brought us Dexter and the people who brought us Fauda. I blame Barker for this, obviously.

So, interesting historically but you can just read a wiki page.

Underdeveloped

[Yahya_Adada · 5/10 · 24 August 2023]

8 episodes wouldn't even be enough to present properly the number one terrorist of that era. The character of Radwan is superficial, many facts are neglected, and his relationship with Iran and Syria is weakly presented. More importantly, his deep relation with hizbullah is totally omitted. Actors tried their best, but they weren't convincing with their poor Palestinian and Moroccan lebanese accent. This story deserves much more invistigation, thoughtful script, 3 dimensional actors, and a professional production. Otherwise, it's a simple introduction for audiences that don't know about that legendary terrorist.

Maybe it gets better, maybe

[Xavier_Stone · 3/10 · 19 May 2023]

The struggle in the Middle East is shown here and it starts with a believable background story in the first episode. The other story is of an American ambassador attempting to assist in the peace, and it's not going so well.

Not much else happens, I'm sure it'll progress slowly as a long drawn out burn so that by the season finale the audience can all agree how bad this terrorist was, and how he needed to be stopped.

As far as production values, it's ok, small tv budget. The acting is ok, basically everything is just average at best. I was hoping for another Homeland or similar series with action and loads of good characters.

Here we just have the two male leads in their own stories passing time. Not interesting. 3/10 as it can't keep a captive audience and you'll be using the FFW button to frequently skip ahead through simple scenes. One and done.

Yeesh...

[peterdowning17 · 5/10 · 9 July 2023]

I gave it a five instead of a one because once the pain in my eyes, ears and brain subsided I was, after all, educated on a subject that I previously knew nothing about. Despite a glowing review by, who I assume must be a relative of hers, the lead actress was not up to the task. I didn't believe her as this character for a second. She may be a fine actor but she is woefully miscast here. I also found the interstitial segments of who I assume were men and women who actually worked in the field a little disconcerting. They, too, didn't seem capable and I wonder if our intelligence community was lacking during this era. It's not a well written show. Maybe the "Intelligence community" thought they should try their hand at writing a TV show and this mess was the result. There was no sign of any experienced writer producers anywhere on the screen. Not compelling, no suspense and poorly directed. Maybe there never was a script. It has the feeling of showing up to set everyday and cobbling something together that imparts just the bones of this terrorist's story. Most glaringly the whole operation ended with a very specific placement of a vehicle on a street and they glossed over it. It was the most interesting part of the story and they absolutely fumbled it. Oh boy, the "actors" playing the team that had to manipulate the position of the vehicle?! Had any one of them ever driven a car before?! What is with the terrible traffic director "helping" the parallel parker? Not only was she useless, we were never let in on who those people were and how that scenario exists in that world! Amateur hour.

Imad Mughniyeh

[m-abtahi · 5/10 · 22 October 2023]

I saw the four-part mini-series Ghosts of Beirut about the life of Imad Mughniyeh. According to the text below the movie, it is a fictional series.

The life of Haj Rizvan - Imad Mughniyeh - is.

From the beginning of the establishment of Hizbullah by the late Mohtashmipour, whose name is also mentioned, and the missing assistant of the Ministry of Defense, Alireza Askari, who says in this series that he became a refugee in America, and Mughnia's acquaintance with them, to various operations and successful joint operations of the CIA and Mossad for his martyrdom. . In this series, some people act instead of Qassem Soleimani, Seyyed Fazlullah, Mohtashmipour, Alireza Asgari.

It was a very poor film without any political bias. From commercial films that are made to order. All the bad things were in Mughnia and the proper planning in CIA and Mossad.

It did not attract as much as the influence of people in the streets and bazaars of Israel. Like the old Israeli series called Tehran.

It is an American film and produced in 2023.