Rating: 
Summary: The Feature was Rich but Flawed
Review: I did not explore any of the DVD aside from the feature, so my review is limited to only the film itself.The film was entertaining in that it kept me interested in the flow of action. It was neat to see an interpretation of modern battle strategies and the soldiers that carried them out. The film also gave me a good feeling of place: where the soldiers were fighting and the conditions they found themselves in. What keeps me from viewing the film as a great one rests in two major criticisms. First, I objected to how the filmmakers inserted "humanist" scenes into the work. These bits of conversation and exchanges between various soldiers were meant to show a personal side to the combatants, that they all had families and histories and desires, etc. Moreover, these scenes were meant to get me emotionally involved in the film. But by using these episodes in sporadic and what seemed off-handed moments, and by being very shallow interchanges then, I felt as if the filmmakers were trying to illicit a response from me that they had not sufficiently paid for. My second major criticism is that the filmmakers did not supply an adequate context for the story. I can sympathize with trying to show a story from beginning to end, a finite piece of reality, and this can and is done regularly in story-telling. But in the case of the events shown in "Black Hawk Down", anyone with even a minor sense of international politics can realize that an entire angle was absent from the film. There was some off-handed remarks about the US mission in Somalia, but the pressures that found the US there, the impossibility of their overall mission and the resultant shift in US foreign policy in the aftermath of the what happend in Mogadishu, were completly left out of the film. Given, the story is one of warfare; however and of course, war does not exist in a vacuum. If the goal of the filmmakers was to entertain, then they did a satisfactory job, but if they were trying to create a testimonial to the soldiers who fought that day, then they do them an injustice by not further explaining the political and historical context in which they fought.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best true to life movies ever!!!!!!!
Review: What others don't understand about this movie who are ripping it for not having character development is that it was based off of a book by Mark Bowden that was completely fact based. Black Hawk Down is not another one of those Titanic or Pearl Harbor chick flicks that claims to be based on facts but uses up 1 1/2 hours of a 2 hour movie to tell a love story, it comes right out with the cold hard facts and tells it like it is. I would clasify Black Hawk Down as more of a documentary because it stays so true to history. That is what I love about it, it's not trying to add in love stories and cheesy humor for the People and Entertainment Weekly readers out there. This movie is more for the historians out there and not so much for the E Entertainment Television viewers. It tells the story of a raid in 1993 to try to capture Mohamed Farrah Aided in the Bakara market place in Mogadishu, Somalia. When this raid goes wrong US soldiers are trapped with a whole city of angry Somali's armed and ready to kill. It is one of the most intense movies I think I've ever seen, two hours of non-stop intensity that only ends with a dozen or so soldiers having to run their way out of the city and back to a UN controlled safe point. This is the battle that we saw the aftermath of when we woke up the next day to Somali's dragging half naked dead US soldiers through the streets of Mogadishu. To pay respect to the men who served in this conflict and to those who paid the ultimate price I think Ridley Scott et al did the right thing by staying true to the facts and making this movie historically acurate. For all those that want to see a war movie that does it right, that puts you in the middle of the action and doesn't stray from the facts, then Black Hawk Down is a must see. For all those that want to see Josh Hartnett in another Pearl Harbor role, go see something else because this movie will disappoint.
Rating:
Summary: Realism at it's best!
Review: As a soldier and NCO in the US Army I was a little skeptical about how realistic this movie would've been made. This was an excellent movie that truthfully depicted what happened on that tragic day. It even accurately points out the apathetic political strategy coming from on high at that time. Although it was very difficult to watch fellow soldiers going down like that, it truly honors their sacrifice!
Rating: 
Summary: What was the point of it all?
Review: A realistic depiction of the chaos and destruction of war. These brave soldiers were thrown into a situation they could not win. I can attest to the accurate depiction of Somalia and it's inhabitants. Having spent a few weeks there, several months before the events depicted in this movie, I am still amazed at the anarchy and disregard for human life. It was interesting to see primitive huts build on the lawns of sprawling mansions along the beach (several are shown in the movie). They were built with the ceiling tiles, curtains and carpets torn from the houses. The occupants used copper kettles for cooking, which were made by melting the electrical wiring in the homes and the telephone lines. This country was a real world "Lord of the Flies." Ruled by the same sort of thugs we are now fighting in Afganistan. We went to Somalia unprepared, with no defined mission and weak political will. The soldiers, as always, suffered the consequences. Good movie, but it left me depressed and asking...what was the point of us being there?
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, average disc
Review: This movie, like most Ridley Scott films, is awesome. I cannot say enough about how good it is. My only gripe is that there is no director's commentary audio track. The transfer is beautiful, the 5.1 Dolby Digital is flawless. Be warned: This movie is more graphic than any other war movie I have ever seen and it does not have that feel good hollywood ending.
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down is a awesome movie!
Review: Black Hawk Down is a awesome movie! You'll love Black Hawk Down, if you liked the battle scenes in saving Private Ryan, as Black Hawk Down is over two hours of nonstop action. I highly recommend both the movie and the book. <2cents>
Everyone should be forced to watch this movie to understand what the brave men and women of the Armed Forces have gone through to serve our country. God Bless the men and women of the Armed Forces and God Bless the USA! Judges 3:1,2
Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: Being a Marine I should hate the groundpounders in this movie, but its a true story and those guys fought there butt off to save their comrades. It helped me and my girlfriend look at what is in store for me in combat...
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down
Review: I initially gave this a 2-star rating because of the Regional Coding Enhancement problems I had with my DVD player. I resolved the digital audio playback problem on my Playstation 2 optical connection and did find that the audio is much better than my first viewing of the movie. It still would have been nice if they released a DTS version of this. Good enough I guess.
Rating:
Summary: Read the book first- but still a great movie.
Review: Black Hawk Down, a movie teeming with violence, carnage and adrenalin was a great movie yet failed to shed light on a few things that the book did. The book gave you a human connection with the Rangers and Delta Operators, when you read the book, you were reading about the soldiers as human beings-not godly, invulnerable warriors as depicted in the movie. I think the movie only supplements the book-YOU MUST READ THE BOOK FIRST. The movie helps you visualize what happened that October. One problem with the movie is the fact that the whole thing was focused on Staff Sargeant Eversman played by Josh Hartnett, while in the book it did not use a character as the central focus. Another great thing about the book and the movie was that they did not go in depth into the political background of the conflict- I want to know what happened in Mogadishu-not who to point fingers at (George S. Bush, Bill Clinton and Les Aspin could have all been held equally responsible, but then yet again you can even blame the United Nations). If you do not read the book first, you will not value the movie as much because you'll be too confused on what was happening.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Classic War Movies of All Time...
Review: After watching this movie, I must say it belongs in a class of truly great war movies that include such films as Gettysburg, Tora!Tora!Tora! and Saving Private Ryan. The gripping realism of this movie, as well as the brilliant directing and soundtrack (Hans Zimmer) make this an outstanding movie. There were some flaws to the movie of course, as in Hollywood not everything can be included. Things that I personally would have liked to have seen are the lead up to the battle (politics, why we were there...that sort of thing) and a sense of how many Somailis (sp?) were really killed. In the actually battle estimated range from 1,000-10,000 killed but I did not get the idea from the movie that the aforementioned numbers were actually reached. Where this movie truly shines though is in showing the gritty realism and unselfish heroism of common soldiers in combat. Any person who says that the scenes of heroism and battle were "souped up" by Hollywood obviously is not familiar with the military and with military comradere. What is depicted in the movie is a true to life story of how soldiers react in those situations. Finally, for all those who say this was not an excellent movie, go read the book or watch the documentary on History Channel. Then maybe you'll learn respect and admiration for the brave men portrayed in the movie. Buy the DVD, read the book.
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