Rating: 
Summary: Modern Warfare Realized on Film
Review: War is a terrible thing and one of the sad realities of modernity is that we've made war more efficient, more destructive and more complicated all at the same time. The events depicted in the Mark Bowden book and Ridley Scott film, Black Hawk Down bear all of this out in excrutiating detail.Judging the film without the benefit of (too much) context, it is easy to make one of two snap judgments about the film: it's either grossly racist or brilliantly realistic. Of course, neither assumption is true, but in this case the truth does not quite come out in the middle. True, some of the events of the film are fabricated, altered from the book, but that's to be expected. The film captures the essence of what it was like to be a Ranger or Delta Operator that day. As such it changes some of the logistics, but to great effect. It also leads to the wrong-headed criticism of the movie, that it is objectively racist. Several professional reviewers made this claim and its unfortunate. The movie boils down the events surrounding and on that day to focus almost exlusively on the perspective of the american combat soldier. The fact is, there are a lot of stories that could be told about the Battle of the Black Sea, as there are about, say, the Battle of Little Big Horn or myriad other world events transmogrified into mass entertainment. The fact that Ridley Scott and others made this version, their version, in no way stops someone from making a film from the opposite perspective. Film is a tricky medium to pull off too many viewpoints succesfully, and art should never be subject to quotas or racial preferences. This film is transfixing, world-altering and deeply affecting. It is not, nor should it be, the last work on the United States' involvement in Somalia. It is just, flat out, a tremendous movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Black Hawk Fails
Review: First this movie fails to give me the reality of what happened. I am into some war movies and this was not a good one. It drugged on and on and on and I had to make myself watch it after turning it off so many times. This is a real downer- you are better of watching Full Metal Jacket. Second, this movie act as if no other minorities fought. I was disappointed to see only a few minorities. Always making it about white men dying...whatabout the rest. RENT THIS MOVIE. Then again, you may want to wait until it is on a rack for $$$- then again you may just want to save your money.
Rating:
Summary: Better war movie than Saving Private Ryan
Review: The story, cinematography, special effects, all beautifully made, come toguether in this highly realistic film about a true battle of modern war. The movie sheds light and makes us remember
the most intense battle fought by US forces since the vietnam war. As author Mark Bowden writes about what happened after: the battle was consider neither victory nor defeat, it just didnt matter. That is what I beleive sets this movie apart from Saving Private Ryan or other great war films, this entire horrific story actually happened, real men died fighting for a cause their country had sent them to, and in the end the cause, the battle and their country simply forgot what happened. The movie shows you that horrific battle with details of what those brave men did for their country with some doing heroic acts that went beyond the call of duty and they were all real.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: Normally I look forward to Ridley Scott movies, but this time I was very disappointed. Although he conveys the raw brutality and chaos of the Somalian rescue very well in Black Hawk Down, it just goes on and on and on. There isn't a break of any kind. In fact, after about 1/2 of the never-ending middle section of the movie, you get bored. It would have been much more enjoyable, and more exciting, had Scott broken up this monotonous sequence with additional scenes. Ridley, it seems you were bored making this film, and didn't particularly care about the results. Your fans, myself included, deserve better. I can only hope that your talents as a masterful director and film-maker return with your next film.
Rating: 
Summary: Realistic depiction of modern warfare
Review: For producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Beverly Hills Cop", "Flashdance", "Top Gun", "The Rock", "Armageddon", "Remember the Titans", "Pearl Harbor"), this is a departure from the crowd pleasers he usually produces. Bruckheimer is one of the most successful producers in Hollywood because he knows that crowd pleasers make a buck. Even "Pearl Harbor" wasn't really about Pearl Harbor, but about a love story with Pearl Harbor as the backdrop. Here, Bruckheimer produces a straight, no nonsense action film with controversial subject matter and none of his standard crowd pleasing elements. Oh, and by the way, he still made money. This is not a film for the squeamish. War is hell and this film turns up the fire. It is a frank and realistic representation of war, much the same as the beach scene of "Saving Private Ryan", only once the action starts, it never lets up. Ridley Scott gives us a raw depiction of modern warfare, based on actual events from the US military action in Somalia. Despite a lot of criticism of Scott for not delving deeper into the political issues, I believe he made the right decision in staying focused on this as a combat film. What is so unlike a Bruckheimer film is that there is no workup of any single character. There is no attempt to get us to love someone and have us pulling for him. He just gives us a bunch of ordinary grunts that get thrown into a fire fight and try desperately to fight their way out to survive. No one is a hero, and everyone is. Scott's direction of the action scenes is superb. This film maintains a dizzying pace and Scott never lets us catch our breath with stunt work and pyrotechnics that defy description. There is no safety net in this film where we know that certain characters won't die. Everyone in the cast is a potential casualty. While this is extremely realistic, it is also one of the shortcomings of the film. By the end, the viewer suffers from battle fatigue and there is no emotional consolation that at least one character we liked came out okay. The ensemble cast does a fine job of creating realistic battle scenes, though there isn't a lot of meaningful dialogue. The actors had to go through real military basic training in preparation for the film and it hardened them for the exhausting rigors of their roles. Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore stood out slightly from the rest, but only because they each had slightly meatier roles. This is an intense and credible war film that doesn't so much engage viewers as it does overwhelm us. From an action perspective it is a 12/10, but in the area of storytelling and character development it falls short. I rated it an 8/10. See it, but brace yourself.
Rating:
Summary: A 4-star movie on a 1-star DVD
Review: I am not well-read in modern military techniques, nor have I read the "novelised" account of this battle by Mark Bowden, so I cannot speak to the veracity of the film. To a layman, it is very realistic, portraying the chaos, fear, and courage of U.S. troops under fire in a situation wherein they do not control the initiative. Black Hawk Down tells the story of one incident in the U.N.-sponsered intervention in Somalia in the early 1990's. At that time, U.S. Rangers and Delta Force, along with regulars from a Pakistani mountain division, were attempting to keep the peace in war-torn Mogadishu. To that end, the U.S. special forces attempted to arrest members of one warlord's inner circle with a daylight raid into the heart of Mogadishu. Insertion by helicopter, along with a Hummer column in support, was the method of choice. When two of the Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by rockets, the U.S. forces lost control of the situation, with too few assets in the hostile zone to control the perimeter of both crash sites and the prisoner extraction. A firefight lasting the rest of the day and all the following night. This film is very well organised. It deservedly won an Oscar for Pietro Scalia's editting. Ridley Scott shares much of the credit, as well, as he sets up the characters we accompany into battle, then clearly arranges the action such that we can follow exactly what is going on. While the many of the soldiers are indistinguishable in the midst of the firefights, the setup is arranged such that we know which groups are involved (i.e. crash site 1, crash site 2, or the extraction team). Authenticity is added by the use of actual U.S. Army chopper pilots and equipment, as well as actual Rangers trained in the insertion techniques (sliding down ropes from an airborn Black Hawk) used in the real battle. The film is relentless in its action - it is so authentic and sustained that the viewer is actually exhausted at the end (much like the Normandy landings in Saving Private Ryan). Unfortunately, I feel these sequences go on a bit long, such that the viewer becomes numbed to the action. Finally, the soundtrack by the able Hans Zimmer, interspersed with pop music, is quite good, and captures the moods accurately. Unfortunately, this DVD edition is very dissappointing. There is only one extra - that of an extended trailer featurette. This one is just as annoying as usual, basically hyping the movie while giving little inside information. The only parts of interest are the short sections dealing with the actors in boot camp (those playing Rangers and Deltas attended a week of training at their respective real-life training facilities). The theatrical trailer isn't even included! So, while the sound and video quality are top-notch, as expected, there is no reason to buy this DVD over the cheaper VHS tape.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I am a huge fan of war movies and from the previews of the movie I thought this would be good. However, I was not very impressed at all. "Black Hawk Down" had good production and good depictions of war in general but it was lacking in scripting and acting. The script just was not all that good and the movie failed to have much of a plot. It just seems that this movie focused to much on just one fragment of the plot and never seemed to move on to something different. In general not much really went on in this movie it was just revolving around the same thing over and over. The acting was not all that great either. I was not impressed with Josh Hartnett in "Pearl Harbor" and I definitely was not impressed with him in "Black Hawk Down". This movie failed to give me the enjoyment and excitement other great war movies has like "Saving Private Ryan", "Platoon", and "The Patriot." This could have been a great movie but the plot and script was generally just to boring to accomplish that.
Rating:
Summary: HDTV
Review: On top of being a great war film this DVD also comes in HDTV format. The image quality of HDTV is simply amazing, if you have HDTV or like to watch your DVDs on your computer then Black Hawk Down is a must buy.
Rating:
Summary: Nice
Review: This move was the best I had ever seen!I have seen it 69 times and counting. I still get a big kick out of it.It was heart pounding.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly Breath-Taking
Review: Forget about Platoon, discard Apocalypse Now, and toss Saving Private Ryan, and pick up Black Hawk Down!!! Sure the affore mention titles are great movies, and surely some of the best movies for their genre, but in my opinion Black Hawk Down is just that one more notch above. After finishing the book long before the movie, I can safely say its what I perceive to be afairly accurate retelling. I do not know what excatly the author Mr. Bowden thought, but its good none the less. The movie is simply marvelous and breath-taking. Yeah it may not have the deepest of characterization but anyone will immmediately attach themselves to anyone of the charcaters, and thus immersing you into the bullet-flying terror on screen. Josh Hartnett as a soldier? Yes my friend and he pulls it off along with anyone of the other numerous actors in the flick.
Ridley Scott's direction along with the hauntingly beautiful score by Hans Zimmer are simply amazing! Each one of Zimmer's scores are different, and this one is no different. It will move you to tears. Because I know it makes this 19 yr. old male cry, and that doesnt come easy, especially since this is the only movie that brings me to tearsand it still happens, even after seeing the movie a half a dozen times already! Whether you rent it or buy it, you owe to yourself to check out this excellent piece of film work. You cannot walk away dissapointed. Only filled with the admiration for those who fought and were able to give it all, their courage, their bravery, their brotherhood, their hearts, and some their lives. For those 19 men that died on that fatefull day in '93 this is their memorial, a living testament that "No One Is Left Behind".
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