Rating: 
Summary: Stupid and Tedious
Review: So this film is better than Scott's _Gladiator_, which isn't saying much, _Gladiator_ being up there with _Rocky_ and _The Greatest Show on Earth_ as films least deserving of Best Picture, and it has a good cast including Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Orlando Bloom, Sam Shepard, and Tom Sizemore, but if I had been one of those rangers, I'd feel insulted by this movie, despite the tribute to the fallen officers at the end, which seem more to give the picture clout. Note only the Americans who died are listed, and none of the over 1000 Somalis. Just who was this war about, anyway?This is one of the worst war movies ever made. It's 2 hours of video game action and 5 minutes of character development, and 10 minutes of credits. All the best war movies let you get to know the characters, and this does it less than the most stereotypical films, do, and only then in the worst way possible, in the form of what Stanley Kubrick called the "mandatory" scenes he and his source novel avoided in _Full Metal Jacket_. That created a film with much richer characters and much more believable fights in just under 2 hours. _Black Hawk Down_ has none of what made _Full Metal Jacket_, or _Platoon_, or _Catch-22_, or _MASH_, or _Three Kings_, or _No Man's Land_, or even Armando Crispino's _Commandos_ so good. In _Full Metal Jacket_, the Viet Cong were an unseen enemy. Here, the Somalis are the evil hordes of _Dawn of the Dead_, a mass of savages, or "skinnies" as they're called, who are there to be slaughtered in a war that was supposed to help the people. The few Somali we see as more than cannon fodder are melodramatic villains ill-befitting a realistic film about war. None of the necessary irony that a failed mission needs to have comes through, nor any of the tragedy. Since we don't get to know these people at all, Scott goes the Paul Verhoeven route by having them die the most gruesome ways possible--getting halved, a severed finger, an exploding body that looks straight out of _Dawn of the Dead_ (why is Scott getting good work when Romero is getting DTV?). When someone is severely abused by the system, such as Alex Murphy in Verhoeven's _RoboCop_, a gruesome death can work effectively as a means for gaining sympathy, but routine horrific war violence has minimal impact without giving good definition to the characters who are being harmed. _Saving Private Ryan_ gave us graphic war violence, even if some of it was a little over the top (the guy picking up his own arm in a lame reference to Kurosawa's _Ran_, which probably should have been snipped), but it gave us characters to focus on who were viewing on this, and we learned more about them as the film progressed, and even while it relied on the tired one-of-each style, they were fleshed-out characters. These are ciphers. On the technical point, the CGI is far less noticeable than it is in _Gladiator_. The artificiality of all the scenes made that film feel like a video game because of the look, even though the bad writing was pure Hollywood. This film is a live-action video game with "cinema scenes" to advance the story. All of this exemplifies why Jerry Bruckheimer productions [stink] and why he ought to be involved in video game development. His style is inherently distancing since it fits in so well with interactive media, and watching video games without playing them is rarely exciting for me anymore, and this film was unrelenting tedium. Maybe I grew up and Bruckheimer didn't. Scott should have known better, but he was never that great a director, and it's all been downhill for him since _Blade Runner_, despite the honors he has undeservedly received. Maybe Bruckheimer picked him because he shares his first name with a space pirate in the _Metroid_ video games, since video games are all he seems to understand. Almost everyone I know had a similar reaction to this film, but it kept coming up in my Amazon ratings, and got largely good reviews, so I gave the film a look. Critics have to watch hundreds of films a year, and so perhaps they'd be best equipped to compare due to having that broader knowledge base. Why this picture struck so many so strongly when so many war films in recent memory are so much better I don't understand. Perhaps the convergence of cinema and video games has become so strong that what I regard as tastelessness and simple-mindedness is now regarded as classy. The extra star is for the cast that had to be in this dreck with barely functional lines and for the use of color, particularly greens, Scott imbues on it.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Movie About Our Fighters Ever Made
Review: This is it folks. This is THE movie to see if you want to get an insiders peek at our nations combat forces.
As a former infantryman I just thought that Hollywood finally got it right. Thank you Ridley Scott. The film is both raw and pure with its subject matter. It doesn't smack of the pretentiousness of most war flicks. This one is about the troops. For the the troops. I can sincerely appreciate that.
Though I am a service veteran and never actually went to combat, I could still relate to a lot of the emotions of the troops. Brought back a flood of memories. Memories that I wouldn't trade for all the money in the world.
Once again, thank you Ridley Scott for finally getting it right. And here's a HOOAH to all the warriors out there!
Rating:
Summary: Brave men in a stupid war
Review: From the early 19th century until the 1960s or so, the "enlightened" nations of Europe carved up Asia, Africa and the Indian subcontinent willy-nilly, hungry to exploit their material and manpower resources and totally oblivious to the natural and tribal boundaries of those lands. As usual, the job of sorting out these messes has fallen to the United States and the brave men depicted in films such as this. Italy carved up the Horn of Africa in the late 19th and early 20th century; but where were the Italians when Somalia was tearing itself apart in the 1990s, after the fall of the Communist dictator Barre? The whole 1992-3 incursion into Somalia may have ill-conceived, but there is no doubt that it was Europe who created this godawful mess and then retreated, leaving the various warlords of that nation to brutalize and strarve its people. "Black Hawk Down" is the story of how the US tried to bring some order and stability to this poor nation. We still have this problem 10 years later. Where were the French and Belgians during the Rwanda genocide, barely a year after the events depicted in "Black Hawk Down"? No doubt they were sitting in Paris cafes sipping lattes and blaming the US for not doing something about the situation. BHD is the most brutal and realistic war movie of the last few years. The movie wisely does not attempt to politicize the situation or blame anyone for it; it simply shows what happened as well as the stupendous courage of the Rangers and Delta Forces who were caught up in a nasty firefight. Some have called this film racist, since almost all of the US soldiers in the conflict where white whereas the enemy combatants were Africans. But I fail to see how this is racist - it's simply the way it was. Before viewing this film (or after) I recommend reading a history of European colonialism in the Horn of Africa or Central Africa, such as "King Leopold's Ghost".
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Tribute
Review: This is one of the finest military films I have ever seen. A good acting group combined with good directors portraying a real event. This film is a very graphic look at operation "Restore Hope" that took place in 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. This is not for the faint of heart because it takes an honest look at war and at combat. This movie re-enacts the battle that took place on October 3-4, 1993. I once heard somebody say that they walked out of this film because it was so violent. Well this film doesn't pretend that war is a pleasant thing. This film doesn't glorify war but reveals it as a very brutal event. Films like this give the general public an idea of what war looks like. Some other aspects, such as men dying, give the public an idea of what it must have felt like- though that really isn't fully possible when you're watching a TV screen. The best thing about this film was that it educates people who didn't know about the event. I found myself reading further about guys like Matt Eversmann, Gary Gordon, and Randy Shughart. This film is a tribute to the men who fought this battle, and to the ones who died. There are a few odd quotes that help to give the audience an idea of what the actors are trying to portray. At the end of the film the character who portrays Hoot gives an exact description of what the plot of the movie was. If you don't get it from Hoot's comments, you'll probably never understand why this movie is good.
Rating: 
Summary: Good film but remember why it happened
Review: Our military was sent to Somalia on a humanitarian mission by Bush 1. People were starving but we probably should have stayed out of a civil war. Bill Clinton decided to go after Aidid. The U.S. Army asked for M2 Bradley tanks as back up repeatedly. Clinton and his Sec of Defense Les Aspin said NO repeatedly. Clinton was under pressure from the congressional black caucas to not send tanks to be used against Africans. Never mind the fact that black, white & hispanic Americans lives were on the line. Al Qeada ambushed our guys. They had no tanks for back up. They were pinned down all night until we were able to get an old rickety tank from a UN country acting as peacekeepers (I think it was Malaysia) to act is back up and cover. Clinton then quickly pulled out. Bin Laden was behind this operation and Clinton's stupidity & cutting & running gave Bin Laden the confidence to launch 9-11.
Rating:
Summary: Hymn to the Fallen
Review: Churchhill said,"We will fight them on the beaches, in the air, and on the land." After this incident, it's like we were saying we'll fight them, but if they kill some of us we'll go home. Political views aside this film was the closest anyone has come to depicting war from the modern and, more importantly, from the soldiers perspective. For Jerry Bruckheimer, this film more than makes up for Pearl Harbor! The performances in this film are what they should have been, nothing more. What I mean by that is that they are not as operatic as they are in some war films. Eric Bana and Josh Hartnett carry the film perfectly, William Fichtner's growing admiration for Ewan McGregor was well played, and Sam Shepard's face shows everything about his growing pain, regret, and disgust at what's happening during the mission. The other parts are as well done as I hoped they would be. This set is why DVD's were created in the first place. Excellent documentaries covering every aspect of the film. Even two historical documentaries that cover the real story as well. The Pentagon's support of this film was REALLY without prescedent. Those were REAL Blackhawks in the insertion scene as well as real rangers! An excellent buy, well worth whatever price you pay!
Rating: 
Summary: I Don't Lie War Movies
Review: That said, I love this film. I'll be honest, I went to see this movie because I'm a huge Ewan McGregor fan, normally I would have let this movie pass me by. I have never been more thankful I randomly chose to see a film in my life. Black hawk Down is a raw, unshakeable movie, full of images that haunt me to this day. So why four stars instead of five? Mostly because I'm kicking myself that I didn't buy the extended edition DVD (but it's on my wish list). More importantly because the first viewing of this film moved me and possessed me in a way no repeated viewing ever will. Taken from the big screen and the dark close quarters of the theatre, and placed in my safe comfortable home, the movie loses its greatest asset, surprise. There are some truely stellar performances in Black Hawk Down. Including a small part by Orlando Bloom, and Eric Bana (The Hulk) in a pivotal roll. Josh Hartnett, who so many try to regulate to simple teen-dream status, but really can act, proves it once again here. And Ewan McGregor, the one who brought me to this film? Well, it's not his best work, that will forever be Trainspotting, but he holds his own. Thankfully, though, he had a better voice coach for Down with Love, because his American accent is very off in Black Hawk Down. So, even if you aren't a fan of war movies, even if you don't usually enjoy the gruesome, and movies that deal with uncomfortable subject matter aren't your cup of tea, see Black Hawk Down, at least once. On the bigger the screen the better.
Rating:
Summary: A soldier that lived through the Mog
Review: Well the truth about it, is I preordered the first DVD before it was released. This is after I saw the movie and the theater and it still effects me the same way as the first movie. You have to remember, however, I lived through Somalia during this time that was depicted. I lost friends to a landmine attack in August and stuff went downhill from there.
Some of the critics that I read here lambasted the gore adn the lack of a plot line. Well guess what? Once the bullets started to fly for real everything went out the window and you relied on the person next to you. That is what this movie tried to show. The biggest thing I gave as a detractor was the location. Actual wires still on power polls, windows intact on buildings, etc. And the setup of the airport was all wrong, however unless you were there, as I was you wouldn't be able to pick up those small problems. Along with "We Were Soldiers" this is probably hands down the best movie on warfare and the best on modern dirty warfare that hollywood has produced.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect DVD? Almost...
Review: I agree with most of the positive comments made about this DVD package. It is simply a condenced version of historic class and a film school that goes into every details of this event. But is this a bona-fide reference disc? Call me picky, but a DTS track is sorely missed here. You would think that a film which has won an Academy Award for its sound should have included the soundtrack which is known to recreate the cinematic experience most truthfully, yet only the Japanese version is getting this previlage (even the original version of Black Hawk Down DVD has the earth-shattering DTS). I found this more-than-often similar situation frustrating, especially for a person who truely loves the movie and hope the get the most out of a "Deluxe Edition". Don't get me wrong, the extras, the picture quality and the Dolby Digital track are all superb, but as a DVD collector and an avid home-cinema fan, I just hate all these "one step away from perfect" DVD packages. Perhaps the greedy distributors are planning for a "Superbit Ultimate-Extreme-May-Or-May-Not-Be-The-Final Edition"? Better get another job to save enough cash first and then wait for it.
Rating:
Summary: The Mog! Hooo-aah!
Review: This is an exceptional peice of film making if you can "cowboy" (or cowgirl) up enough to watch the gruesome war scenes. Hoo-aah? Maybe if you do not approve of the gore, you might think twice in the future for setting up a kid glove approach to politically correct wars where we can never use full force to protect our men and women in the field. Major General Harrison did indeed request heavy armor and full size gunships and was denied by the U.N. desk warriors. We also had to be politically correct enough to treat Mr. Atto to tea (at the start of the movie) when he was the one that sold all of the RPG's (surface to air hand held missile launchers) to the Mog militia to enable them to shoot down helicopters. What was basically wrong with the military Plan A was that there was no backup Plan B. My prescription for what ails this entire politically correct approach to war invented by desk warriors is a bit rougher, but would get our troops home alive. First, fit Mr. Atto with a stinger suppository. Lets have some fireworks. Second, ditto that for desk warriors. Third, put full size gunships and tanks into the battle. If you run into an angry mob bearing down on a downed helicopter and its crew, roast and toast the entire street. Can't get to the crash site because of a barricade? A couple of tank rounds ought to widen the street quite well. Anything left in the way can be crushed down to recycled beer can thinness. The tragedy of this entire situation is that we are still living with the results of Europeans creating artificial national boundaries that put tribes together that have been fighting for hundreds of years. My full one thousand percent support is behind feeding starving babies anywhere in the world. However, this also means my full support is behind dealing with any slob war lord that would practice genocide. You can't do this in half measures. Once you have our troops in the field risking their lives, they need our full support to come home alive. As Hoot, the Delta Force veteran in the movie would say, once the bullets start flying by your head, politics don't mean nothing. There's only the guys next to you. You have their backs and they have yours. Once they are in the field risking their lives, WE have their backs.
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