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Summary: My new favorite war movie
Review: The best war movie of all time. Incredible characters, effects, and storyline. A must-see for all you war movie fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good movie
Review: I enjoyed this movie, but I think if it wouldn't have been a true story I would have been bored with it. I usually enjoy true stories more.
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Summary: Disgusting US propaganda - an insult to history...
Review: I only watched this film because a friend told me it was a good portrayal of the horrors of war. It is not. It is an attempt to legitimise a US mission in a sovereign state that caused the deaths of 10,000 Somali civilians. From the outset, the natives are portrayed as animals and terrorists, when the real terrorists were the foreigners (US) who invaded their country and took sides in a civil war that was none of their business. Of course, Ridley Scott doesn't tell it like this. He portrays the US terrorists as "heroes" and spends more time weeping over the deaths of 18 US soldiers than he does over the deaths of 10,000 Somali civilians. He portrays the US mission as "humanitarian", when its real purpose was to install America's preferred puppet and gain control over lawlesss Somalia. If you care about the truth, I'd advise you to avoid this film...
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Summary: This movie broke my heart
Review: This movie was an unfortunately violent and bloody look at war and probably a realistic look at war (I have never been to war). This movie will really make you think about the dangers that the armed forces face in a foreign land, and how brutal war is... I have read that this movie depicts the Blacks in a negative way... WELL... NEWSFLASH: Somalis are not BLACK (they are Somalis and have been Somalis for thousands of years before there was even of CONCEPT of BLACK and WHITE). The American view of RACE has not quite reached Somalia yet!!... I am a "Black" American who has studied African history, languages, etc and though White Americans do see us all as the SAME, We are not. The continent of Africa contains THOUSANDS of nationalities/ethnic groups who are as different from each other as can be... if I went over there with a US uniform, they would shoot [me] TOO! Hello!! What this movie DID do however was reinforce racist stereotypes ABOUT Black people for those who lump all people of African descent in ONE group. If you were a racist BEFORE this movie you will be MORE of one afterwards! That I know for sure... Anyway, this movie was sad and the sheer violence inflicted on the soldiers and civilians was hideous. What was supposed to be a humanitarian mission was REALLY a hide and seek with Farrah Aidid that ended very badly with US Soldiers taking extensive casualties for the most part because CLINTON would not commit the heavy armored equipment that was needed to root him out. As is the case with URBAN warfare, there is nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. No American can ever forget the images of this conflict and no American should.
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Summary: Such a sad movie!
Review: I loved this movie, but it's not one I want to watch too much. It's so sad, seeing all those innocent people die...I know it's just a movie, but the truth is, lots of people DO die in real life during wars...I like how it's different, not like your usual cheesy, predictable love story. And btw, I quite liked the bits of humour put in...
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Summary: Takes off and never lets up
Review: From the opening to the end this one never stops or disappoints. Graphic portrayal of 1993 events in Somalia involving US military intervention in war torn Mogidishu. Special effects and rapid-fire editing give this portrayal of a dark tragedy in American military history. Ewan Mcgregor is almost unrecognizable in this!
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Summary: Good fighting that undermines the "plot"
Review: This is ultimately another Hollywood film whether or not the director intended it to be. It has little character development (if any) and doesn't really tell the story (beyond fighting which we already essentially knew). If you're looking for blood and guts alone, you're in for a ride. If you're looking for another Saving Private Ryan with character development and more than just fighting (with violence as a byproduct) then look elsewhere. This is a very one-sided film. Corrupted politics (also existent in the 'good sided' US) somehow translates into purely evil somalians that do nothing but kill (innocents and american soldiers alike). So, you will get to see the omnipotent americans kill those black hawk suckers alright (no pun intended...), but not much else. That's Hollywood for you.
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Summary: Unexpectedly moving, and emotionally draining
Review: Visionary director Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Blade Runner, the original Alien) re-created with exacting detail a fateful day in Somalia involving a U.S. Ranger mission when everything that couldn't have gone wrong, did. During the first half hour of the film we get to meet the main characters and get to know them pretty much before we see them get thrust head first into the hell of war. That alone is what Black Hawk Down portrays while pulling no punches, that war is hell, and if Scott would not have been on board as director this film would not have hit on the same emotional level as it does. The cast includes Josh Hartnett, Eric Bana, Ewen McGregor, Tom Sizemore, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Ron Eldard, Sam Shepard, Jeremy Piven, Jason Isaacs, and Orlando Bloom, with Hartnett's as the most surprising of all, proving that he can act and isn't a teeniebopper film heart throb.
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Summary: Lots of Fighting, Not Much Story or Character
Review: Like many of Ridley Scott's films, "Black Hawk Down" functions best as style over substance. Based on the sadly true story of a 1993 U.S. military operation gone sour in Somalia, the film nonetheless feels devoid of much plot or character: it's mostly a lot of combat in the cavalry-surrounded-by-Indians vein, some of it gripping, some not. In terms of execution, it's reminiscent of "Saving Private Ryan" (and the last 20 minutes of "Full Metal Jacket"). However, things worked better in the D-Day film (which also featured Tom Sizemore and was filmed in a similar high-contrast style) because Spielberg worked harder to establish his characters, stock as they were, so we'd care about their ultimate fates. But other than some macho "styling and profiling" scenes early in this film, there's not much effort to differentiate the soldiers here, who for the most also look irritatingly the same with their gear and shaved heads. Because the characters feel more or less like extensions of the military equipment, like toy soldiers on the kitchen table, many of the film's "emotional" scenes lack punch. Oscar-caliber acting, therefore, is neither required nor expected, and the cast of mostly young faces--Ewan MacGregor, Josh Hartnett, William Fichtner, and others--delivers what is necessary and not much more, with wrinkly Sam Shepherd his usual cowboy self. What keeps "Black Hawk Down" alive is how the soldiers' predicament goes from bad to worse; what keeps your attention is the verisimilitude of the fighting scenes, particularly in the last half of the film, though, again, "Saving Private Ryan" scores higher in most regards. That leaves a collage of scenes that are too stylized to be documentary and too "realistic" to be a standard Hollywood outing. Based as it is on real events, the film still reduces conflicts to their most simplistic level--the technological might of the U.S. soldiers versus the wily determination of the enemy mobs; the streetsmart blue-collar grunts versus the incompetent egghead analysts in charge; the nearly all-white soldiers versus the all-black hordes of Somalis, etc. Though composer Hans Zimmer repeats a lot from The Thin Red Line, much of the music fits, even the requisite pop songs. The mixed result is a passable war film that, at least, tries to honor the memory of those who died, even if we never really get to know most of these men in meaningful ways.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Movie (Josh Looks Great!)
Review: Black Hawk Down is one of my fave movies - and not just because of Josh Hartnett (alhtough he does add to it). Ridley Scott did a great job with transforming the novel (also titled Black Hawk Down) into a "major-motion picture." Aight, the (true) story goes: It is October of 1993, and the US Army is in Somalia. The general gets a tip-off that two of the Somalian warlord's sidekicks are going to be in a certain area of the city (Mogadishu). Of course this area is the Danger Zone. So a thirty-minute operation is planned -- get in, capture the guys, get out. But everything goes wrong, and the peeps that were sent in - D-Boys and Rangers - end up trying to survive a 15-hour siege. Just so y'all know, 18 American lives were lost.
The movie was well done, great cast, visual & sound effects rock. If you're a fan of action/war movies, you'll love BHD!!!!
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