Who's In It?

Josh Harnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner 

Who Made It?

Ridley Scott

Where's The Web site?
Black Hawk Down

In Ten Words or Less

"An amazing walk through a harrowing incident."

What's It About?

Somalia held a mission for the United States that may have been unclear to some.  Politics were probably more at the center of things instead of the needs of the troops that were there as peacekeepers, or so they thought.  The year was 1993.  Mogadishu was a place that was akin to what some people would say is “hell on earth”.  A non-stop maze of streets that all looked the same and all held danger on each corner was what awaited the Americans that were there to capture some of the warlord Aidid’s top men.

This was a mission that was laid out with the greatest of precision, but went horably wrong.  A simple in and out mission became 18hours of hell.  Choppers were down, and men worked hard just to survive the impending Somali assaults.  This is the story of the men, the mission and the commitment.  The quote is “leave no man behind” and that is what these soldiers live by.

Common Guy's Thoughts

WOW!  This is a film that just grabbed my gut and wouldn’t let go.  The frustration of a batch of soldiers who were sent to keep the peace just oozes from the screen as quick as the movie starts.  A chopper hovering over the distribution of food to Somali people witnesses the innocent civilians gunned down by the Somali warlord’s men.  When asking for the right to defend those citizens, they are denied because the men did not engage the soldiers.  It is from that point on that my heart was in the hands of director Ridley Scott. 

I compare the film to the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan.  That first twenty minutes of intense, gory, but frightening footage puts the viewer in a mood of somber realism throughout the movie.  So too does Black Hawk Down.  Only Ridley Scott runs on that high adrenaline intensity for nearly 2 hours of this film and it constantly kept me on the edge of my seat.  Scott found a way to grab the human emotions that are all too real given the current conflict in Afghanistan.  This is a movie that may be too intense for some, but the grim real feel to the film just had me from the get go. 

The cast is a truly great group of guys.  Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor and Tom Sizemore are cast almost perfectly in this film.  This film forces the actors to act as a team as there is not one overpowering star.  That is the genius in the casting of this film, it is not a film about a single actor, it is a film about a group of men all acting as one.  We get very few long extended scenes with any of the military men or Somali fighters.  And we can feel the ultimate chaos that was a part of the mission.  All of our notions of right and wrong as citizens in the USA are thrown out the window.  The soldiers are in harm’s way and they need to work together to leave the area.

Sure there were some minor flaws in this film, but they are so minor that they do not detract from the finished product.  Director Ridley Scott shows us the chaos that was Mogadishu and the men that lived by the credo “leave no man behind.”  This is an amazing and frightening look at war in as real terms as it has been done.  This movie still has my heart that it grabbed and I don’t think it will relinquish it anytime soon.  If you can stomach the violence and handle the emotions that this film will bring out of you, I highly recommend spending the 2+ hours of Black Hawk Down.

Grade

A

Parents Guide

Rated R for intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language.  This is an incredibly intense film that is not made for kids.  It deals with war very realistically and there are many scenes that will be disturbing to a number of individuals whether they are kids or not.  I would not recommend viewing by any kids under the age of 15.  I would also not recommend viewing by anyone with a weak stomach.  If you are emotionally attached to this type of movie please be ready for the intensity level.
 

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