Black Hawk Down

Rating:
Summary: Riddley Scott Finds His Masterpiece
Review: This movie has it all - great story, excellent acting, strong dialogue, tasteful use of effects, artistic cinematography and Scott's great vision. Josh Hartnett carries off the lead convincingly and captivatingly. Wasn't that much of a fan of his until now. Tom Sizemore was cast perfectly as "McKnight" the soldiers' soldier. Ewan McGregor was charming as usual without glamour. (It's hard to be glamorous covered in blood!) While there were a number of gory scenes, these were used to carry out the feeling of the movie and bring the viewer into the intensity of the characters' experience as you see it "through their eyes".

Okay, so I'm a Ridley Scott fan - I still think this is his best work to date. If you like war movies, Scott movies, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor and let's not forget Josh Hartnett - you'll love this one. (I'm sure I'm forgetting other notable appearances) If war movies aren't your thing - there are lots of other titles in the theaters. If you enjoy a good movie no matter the plot - your eyes will be opened further. If you like Ridley Scott movies - you'll not be disappointed.

Are there any negatives about this film? Probably. But I left the theatre with that "wow what an incredible movie" feeling and have been talking about it since. After all, that's what going to the movies is about, isn't it?

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie. Extremely well done.
Review: I have read the book "Black Hawk Down" and I loved it. The movie was very true to the book. All the actors seemed very Ranger-like. I loved the movie. The action grabbes you and pulls you in. The story talks about heroism and sticking together. The story follows 100 American troops who go into a city in Somalia (Mog as they call it.) Things go wrong, people die, and the Rangers and Delta Force members have to fight their way out.
This story is absolutely stunning. I think it is great. So go see the movie, you wont regret it.

Hoo-Hah

Rating:
Summary: Good action flick but little else
Review: The action is fast paced, tense and dramatic. Which is good. However there was not enough character development which really
lets the movie down. In that sense it felt more like a dramatisation than a movie. The actors were ok but no oscar nominations.

Rating:
Summary: Sets the standard for all other war movies...
Review: Indeed this not only reached the bar for a great war movie, but it significantly raised it. I personally think it's sad that people have come to think that movies like "Pearl Harbor" are great war movies. I don't think "Pearl Harbor" is bad by any means, but it certainly isn't a good war movie, I mean, out of three hours, 45-60 minutes of it is war. Not good.

Anyway, "BLACK HAWK DOWN" is an emotional, engulfing, and realistic war film. If you've seen the trailer, which I'm banking on, you know that this was based on an actual event that had taken place in 1993. If your like me, you didn't have much previous knowledge of the events that took place, but after the movie, your very informed, which is good.

"BLACK HAWK DOWN" doesn't have any sub-plots, it's all about the "attack" and extracting the soldiers inside the city. We know all of the characters, and accept them from the get-go, but we're not impartial to anybody. If your looking for a war movie all about what it's like inside, then this it. I really like how fictional characters don't populate the story, and it's not all about love. But that doesn't mean that it's not emotional, there were moments where I did want to cry.

As for realism, well, this is about as real as we can get. I assume anyway. I've never been to war, and hope I never have to go. But this is pretty damn realistic, and there were also moments where I was cringing from the violence and bloodshed.

Overall, this is a great film that fails on absolutely no front. It has the direction, cinematography, story, acting, realism, and emotion. Things all good war movies require these days. "BLACK HAWK DOWN" is definitely on my top 5 favorite war movies, right alongside "Saving Private Ryan" "Platoon", "Tigerland" and "Glory". I'm glad to see both Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer bounce back from two marginal flicks. "BLACK HAWK DOWN" should definitely do good in the awards department.

Rating:
Summary: Saving Private Ryan's Opening Scene Extended --- 2 hours
Review: This film is pure action. It's a war film but full of action as well. Parents, don't take your teenagers to see this, it's way too violent. Remember in Saving Private Ryan on the beach where people were being slaughtered (god rest their souls). Well, picture this Somolein incident being 10 times worst, and 10 times longer than that.

Black Hawk Down is not only an interesting film, it's a heartbreaker. This is the best anti-war film since Platoon! Picture yourself being on the battlefield with a friend, then one second you're talking to him, the next he's snipered. That's the overall feel of this film. The paranoia of it, the beauty of the cinematography, the amazing direction, the intimate message. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: This is the best film I have ever seen about war. It is far better than Patriot, and surpasses Braveheart by a fair lot. One of the things that set it apart for me was the fact that these exact events happened to these exact people. The plot goes as follows: A Somalian warlord named Aided is starving his people. The death count is up to 300,000 at the point when the Americans step in. They send the most elite forces you can get, Delta force and Team Force Ranger. They are going to extract Aided and get the country on it's feet. However, they encounter a lot of resistance, and after two Black Hawk Helicopters go down, the soldiers find themselves fighting for their life overnight. The film is brilliantly done by Ridley Scott, and the script and camera work put is right in the action. We find ourselves praying for the survival of Ranger Smith, and watching out for members of Somalian Militia. This is an excellent film, and one that would have my vote for best picture of 2002.

Rating:
Summary: "It's about the guy next to you."
Review: This film was amazing. I almost jumped out of my seat and started screaming when the Somolians are taking the bodies out of the black hawk and tearing their clothes. This film is just what America needs at this time, HEROS, men willing to risk their lives in order for others to live. I would also like to say that i hope that this film wins BEST PICTURE at the Golden Globes.

Rating:
Summary: A war movie that gets it right
Review: My girlfriend said it best when the credits started to roll up and she stated, "Now that's what Pearl Harbor [the movie] should have been like!"

I find it ironic that one of the best war movies I've ever seen is about an event that many people don't even know ever happened.

Ridley Scott directs an amazing movie in Black Hawk Down. Based on true events of the conflict in Somalia, the movie is about a group of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force personel trying to make it out of the city of Mogadishu alive after a planned militarty operation suddenly takes a turn for the worse.

Many war movies mix in other plot devices in an attempt to enhance to overall theme and story. In some cases this works extremely well as in Saving Private Ryan. In other cases it ruins a potentially great movie as in Pearl Harbor. In Black Hawk Down, the story focuses on the conflict itself. In fact, the story is so focused on the conflict that there isn't really even a main character.

One of the great aspects of Ridley Scott's films is his attention to trivial detail. Many film makers use studio shots and close ups to get around having to go to remote locations and building expensive sets all for the purpose of creating some background eye-candy. This causes the audience to have to stretch their imagination a bit further then they should have to. Ridley Scott however treats the screen as a canvas; not only beatiful to see but intregal to his message. His attention to detail bridges the gap between watching a movie and being immersed in it. These skills were used to great effect in his most famous works such as Alien, Bladerunner, Gladiator, and now Black Hawk Down.

When you see Black Hawk Down, you will experience what a war film should be like. What's more you will experience a great film from one of the industry's best. You will witness a realistic portrayal of the savage horror that is war, and you will also see the heroic level that men are capable of rising to.

When you leave the theater you will feel like you've been to Mogadishu and know something of what it was like to be with these U.S. soldiers who lived and died in the horrible conflict in Somalia.

Rating:
Summary: Thank You To A New Greatest Of Generation Group
Review: The man-made famine in Somalia and the steps nations took or did not take regarding the Genocide, is an incredibly complex issue. No single film could pretend to tell the entire story, and no matter how the tragedy was portrayed, various parties would not agree. The Director of, "Blackhawk Down" Ridley Scott, has been very clear that this movie is about a single mission, the men involved, and what they did. This cinematic presentation is also notable for how it matched the book. I cannot remember a book transferred to the screen more faithfully.

The professional reviews I read prior to the film had many comments in common and so many of which are false, they are worth noting here. This movie does have the graphic depiction of death and suffering that took place. It is never gratuitous as it portrays what took place. A series of scenes involving the treatment of a wounded Ranger, while graphic, is accurate. If critics have a problem with this they need to read some history. This movie is not, as has been written, comparable to the Normandy Invasion as portrayed in, "Saving Private Ryan". The fighting is sustained for a greater part of the film in, "Blackhawk Down", however 19 Americans died. Many times that number was horribly killed and maimed within the first minute of fighting in, "Saving Private Ryan". The latter film tells a story that evolved over days, this film is about an 18-hour event.

One of the most disturbing parts of the movie is the beginning, and again, contrary to what has been written, you will not even see a gun. A person is wrapping a famine victim in a death shroud, and while this plays out, graphics share many facts about events that lead the US to intervene. If the opening does not demonstrate why the victims of a man every bit as evil as Hitler or Stalin needed to be helped, I don't know what visuals would. As the movie progresses it will also become crystal clear why the US has to be involved in any major international effort, and even more clearly, why, on the battlefield we should have nothing to do with United Nations politics. And the lesson that Washington should not be deciding what troops do and do not need on a mission, is again proven the folly that President Johnson is famous for. There is no way to replay the events, but if the general in command had the permission for the air-cover and other forces he wanted, there likely would have been far fewer deaths of Americans, and of Somalians.

The movie is about the men who went on the primary mission, those that joined to help their fellow soldiers, and those that asked to be placed in the middle of the fighting to attempt a rescue that was unlikely to spare their lives. The constant mortal risk, or at times what appears a mortal certainty, never gives these men pause when one of their own is in need of help. These men were not from the same branches of the service, they were not all long-term friends. Men who knew nothing about one another risked and gave their lives so that another of their number could live. Two of these men received The Congressional Medal Of Honor. They were never to have the honor placed upon them, for they both died saving another's life.

Praising this movie does not make a political statement, it does not mean the viewer gains some vicarious thrill from violence. For voyeurs there is the fiction of the Rambo films. Praising this film is paying tribute to what the film is about. It is about having men who are willing to serve this country, i.e. you and I, and to do so in a manner that focuses on the respect and admiration we owe them every moment they are doing their job.

These men do not decide where they will fight or why. This film does not spend time on the stupidity of governments and their leaders who play politics, and consult polls instead of making decisions. What this film does present is the total commitment, the selfless sacrifice, and the supreme competence of the fighting men who serve this nation. This film has a focus, and what it focuses on may be hard to watch and easier to criticize. However, the truth is none of us has seen enough of the horror that is war, and so we continually send men and women to die for questionable reasons. Why should American soldiers die when the mission is catalyzed by man-made famine? If the answer is that as a nation we have both the ability to help and the willingness to support the effort, that effort must have as its primary goal the provision of support to the men and women that volunteered to serve this nation. We do not send them to a situation where an incompetent military organization in the form of UN Peacekeepers plays any role in our troops safety. We do not demand that bullets fly at them before they can fire their own weapon, we do not require they watch as Somali, "Technicals", butcher people at food stations.

It is true that the film spares viewers the scenes of our dead being dragged through the streets. It does not omit the event, it makes a visual note that is all the reminder anyone needs. This is another fact the critics miss.

Don't like watching what it means when a primary rule is, "that no one is left behind"? Stay home, don't see the film. If you want to see the best of human nature in the most inhuman situations, then go and pay tribute to those who fought in Somalia, and for those who have fought throughout this Nation's History.

Rating:
Summary: "No one gets left behind..."
Review: This is a phenominal film. I'm sad to say that I was fairly oblivious to the conflict in Somalia... I was working 3rd shift and sleeping during the day in 1993 when this incedent took place. This film could not have been more timely in its release... when long dormant patriotism has been brought to the forefront of every American's thoughts.

Now that we've been attacked on our own soil, conflicts overseas seem that much more real to us.

In 1993, the Islamic leader and warlord of Somalia, Muhammad Farrah Aidid, led with fear and tyranny. His henchmen were equipped with what appeared to be limitless weapons -- large machine guns, shoulder rockets, pistols, and many automatic and semi-automatic weapons. They enlist even the youngest and most innocent of their populace to help them spy and keep in constant contact via cell phone. Aidid stopped international aid from reaching his own people, killing 300,000 by starvation and the onslaught of civil war.

Washington sent in their military forces to remove Aidid from power and to prevent the Somali people from having to endure more suffering under Aidid's iron grasp. Sadly, Washington didn't want to "look too dramatic" and denied military requests for C130 gun ships and other heavy artillery that certainly would have made a big difference on the outcome of this event.

Army Rangers, pilots, medics, the famous Delta Force, the pride of America was there, fighting for the freedom of a people they did not know.

This film is the realistic portrayal of the events that led to the deaths of 19 U.S. servicemen... but it's not just a shoot 'em up movie. You feel like you're there, with them. What should have been a mission that was to last only 30 minutes, lasted longer than anyone imagined when a single Somali soldier downs a Black Hawk rotor with a shoulder-launched rocket... and the Ranger motto, "no one gets left behind," is tested to the limits.

There are some humorous moments to break the tension, but the majority of the film is a stressful experience where you are literally at the edge of your seat to see what happens next.

The 19 servicemen that are killed range the gamut from 18 year old enlistees to First Sergeants with years of service... and none of them dies in a pretty way. If you are made queasy by blood, beware... this is a bloody film... and there are a number of scenes that will make you gasp in horror. Some of these guys were hit by rockets... burned and blown apart... it's just awful, but sadly... it's reality. We usually just hear some sterile figures on CNN how a particular number of soldiers were shot, stepped on land mines, etc... but we don't see what really happened and that's when we become very detached from reality and end up sympathizing with the people (often our enemies) we see in easier-to-stomach scenes of children living in squalor as a result of conflict, maligning Americans against their own military. Please note the rating of this film and consider it thoughtfully before considering bringing a child. The gore is horrific and the scenes are really too intense for young ones.

For those who like shoot-em-ups and explosions, you won't be disappointed. The special effects are fantastic... there are a few scenes in the movie in which you feel like ducking as it appears a missile is ready to whiz right over your shoulder. The sound is fantastic... you can hear and feel the bullets whizzing by and you can hear the klinking of shells falling at your feet. The foley artists on this film are to be commended.

Hans Zimmer delivers a wonderful and complimentary score to the movie... along with the sounds of African children singing and some rock-n-roll to boot... it's a nice soundtrack.

Ridley Scott reminds us once again his flair for delivering crisp, vivid scenes that are riveting, exciting and moving all at the same time.

Watching this film is an emotional and intense experience that will leave you tired when it's over... but images from the screen will replay in your head several times. These soldiers trained hard to become Rangers and to be part of the Delta Force... these are young men that know what dangers await them and they go in with their eyes wide open... and they are prepared to defend their buddies with their lives. In many ways, this film is a monument to their strength, their courage and their loyalty. Those 19 men should not be forgotten. This film is also a testament to the necessity of properly arming and equipping our soldiers so that they have the best protection needed when engaged in conflict and worrying less about appearances and more about protecting American lives, both military and civilian.

I highly recommend this film.