Rating: 
Summary: The best movie of 2001
Review: Gritty, convincing, and gory. Those are some of the words that describe Black Hawk Down. The performances are flawless, especially Australian actor Eric Bana, who give an excellent performance in Chopper. The supporting cast, including Josh Hartnett, Ewan Mcgregor, Sam Shepard and Jason Isaacs are very convincing in their respective roles. In my opinion the best movie of 2001!!
Rating:
Summary: Best War Movie of all time
Review: There are only 2 words for the movie SIMPLY BRILLIANT. This movie stands out as one of the best war movies of our times. The movie is very realistic & hold backs no punches. THis movie is definately not fr the weak hearted. The scene where the doctor tries to plug a artery of a soldier wounded is the most gruesome scenes have ever seen. Also the courage of the soldiers to stand up for each other in face of adversity is commendable, especially when 2 rangers go to defend the pilot in the 2nd Black Hawk which went down, to some it may seem foolhardy, but i saw it as the ultimate say in comradary. To realize that this has really happened just makes us feel that we live a very comfortable life & blissfully unaware of the difficulties.But there was one aspect of the movie that i found too putting off....the treatment of the Somalians...there were 19 American casulties & 1000 SOmalian casulties but no mention has been made of that..but each of the Amreican life as important. No matter how many ppl die...each human life is important.
Also this movie brings up one issue....excessive American influence in outside matters...especially when they r not wanted...American history is littered with such tragedy..but yet somehow they refuse to learn.....Vietnam, Cuba, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan to name a few. they like to behave like big daddy to everyone. Ofcourse as some americans who have reviewed this movie say that what courage these people show & others dont value it....true in a way, BUT then think of it this way when your father used to nag you to clean your room how you rebelled & went against him ....similarly no country likes to be bossed around. Of course USA is the most powerful country in the world so it can dictate terms....but there is a time when the daddy becomes too old to handle himself & the son grows up to become the daddy....then we know how nature runs its course.....What goes comes around....My review might not be too popular but then these are the facts as people feel.
However the movie doesnt devlve into the politics & reason behind this scenario but the actual experience & this is what is most pleasing...the movie can be watched with complete oblivion abt what happened before
But my critism is aimed at the American political system rather then the military system.
I am the biggest admirer of the American soldier because they show bravery unparalled because to go and fight in a third country for a cause not assosciated with the home country is really commendable.To fight for an alien country and a n alien cause is not rally simple.These soldiers who died in Somalia did it for a cause that was not directly related to them....HATS OF TO THE AMERICAN SOLDIER But all in all the best war movie i have ever seen.....
Rating:
Summary: Black Hawk Down: One of the Best War movies ever made.
Review: Black Hawk down is one of the best war movies ever made. There are several reasons for this. 1. The acting is first class. Each actor, be it delta force or rangers, went through condensed training camps before filming the movie. 2. Realism. This is as real as it gets without actually being there. 3. Accuracy. Black Hawk Down is historically accurate. 4. Directing. Ridely Scott contended for an Oscar, he could have won, but the academy doesn't like giving the oscars to war flicks. 5. Cinematography, sound. I think the oscars speek for themselves. This is a must see movie for all Americans. It depicts a battle not well known to the public. It also shows the common citizen what Special Operations Forces do to protect the United States and preserve our freedom.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This is one of the most incredible movies I've ever seen in my whole life. I left the movie theather amazed with the story of that men. I'm sure that the survivors of that sad story are very thankfull to all the staff involved in the movie production for reliving their stories with such amazing reality. May the love and pride of that men for their people live in the hearts of each one of us. Congratulations to you all that made this an act no one will forget.
Rating: 
Summary: another well executed piece of planned disinformation
Review: The latest US propaganda film, Black Hawk down, is the biggest screening of an illusion since the infamous Osama Video. These deceptions are designed to keep the American Public blind to the real motives behind US Foreign Policy. The US Public bought the notion that the War in Afghanistan is a war against terrorism. They bought the notion that the Gulf War was to restore the legitimate government of Kuwait. They are now being resold the notion that operation restore hope, in Somalia, was merely a humanitarian mission. The film was produced with the assistance of the pentagon. Understandably it overtly aids the furthering of American foreign policy objectives. Black Hawk down is not about artistic expression, historical analysis or even about entertainment and it is definitely not about the truth. In January 1993 a report appeared in the Los Angeles Times, under the heading "The oil factor in Somalia; four American petroleum giants had agreements with the African nation before its civil war began. they could reap big rewards if peace is restored". This suggested that the US was not interested in Humanitarian efforts (for which she was acting far too late in any event). Rather she was interested in the vast reserve of oil which Conoco, Amoco, Chevron and Phillips (American oil giants) had discovered there at the time of the rule of pro-U.S. President Mohamed Siad Barre. This was before he was overthrown in Jan 1991 and the country thrown into civil war. In fact Conoco went as far as providing the housing for the US embassy and the headquarters for the US marines. Mark Bowden revised his book "Black Hawk Down" to make it suitable for US government propaganda, even the movie director Alex Cox Pointed out that "It's interesting to observe how the story was re-told over that time." In previous articles he clearly points out that US troops killed unarmed men, women and children from the outset of their mission: 'In one incident, Rangers took a family hostage. When one of the women started screaming at the Americans, she was shot dead. In another incident, a Somali prisoner was allegedly shot dead when he refused to stop praying outside. Another was clubbed into silence. The killer is not identified.'" The only incident he mentioned was the fact that GI John "Stebby" Stebbins, renamed as Company Clerk John Grimes in the film, is now serving a 30-year sentence in Fort Leavenworth military prison for raping and sodomising a 12-year-old girl. Americas intervention in Somalia was to secure its interest i.e the oil and secondly Somalia is situated in the Horn of Africa which is a strategic location. During the rule of President Mohammed Siad Barre, the US had access to Somali military bases. Siad Barre granted American warplanes landing rights at airports. He also allowed American warships use of port facilities at Berbera, a northern Somali port town on the Gulf of Aden, and at Mogadishu, the country's capital, which borders the Indian Ocean. Access to these facilities have played an important role since 1980 in American military plans to respond to crises in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The facilities also counter the Soviet air and naval facilities in Ethiopia, South Yemen, the Socotra Island off the South Yemen coast, and on the Dahlak Archipelago off the Red Sea coast of Ethiopia. The loss of American access to Berbera and Mogadishu would diminish greatlyU.S. access to the region, and tilt the regional power balance substantially in favour of the Soviet Union. The film Black Hawk Down like all other main stream media propaganda will not present any of these facts. Instead it seeks to present the Somalian Muslims as backward and barbaric who are in need of American civilisation. It will present operation restore hope as a battle between good and evil as the media has done in its coverage of the war in Afghanistan. It will present Mohamed Farah Aideed as the source of all the evil in Somalia, another Usama bin Ladin or Saddam Hussein who the Americans need to remove from power to rescue the people. This demonisation of a people is necessary for the US government to justify its war to the American people. Demonisation of others produces pride in their shallow American values of democracy and freedom. It is a call to American nationalism, in order to prepare the people for future colonialist operations.
Rating:
Summary: Tremendous Mix of Movie Making and Story Telling
Review: Quite simply a masterpiece from Ridley Scott. A difficult subject: the true story of a peace keeping mission in Somalia. Scott is able to cut through the oppressing political atmosphere that surrounded, and created, the involvement of US forces in Somalia, to paint a vivid, unflinching and accurate story of several young men whose job it was to work in the most hostile of environments. The movie takes the viewer through an almost point-by-point perspective of the incident leading up to and during the battle in the Bakara Market-area of Mogadishu. It does a fantastic job of not pointing blame, but telling the story of young men suddenly dealing with 60-1 odds to survive and the sizeable character of brotherhood that it takes and is often overlooked by most of the people who condemn the Rangers and Special Forces' involvement in Somalia -- remember, these men, including General Garrison, were following policy and orders as set by the Clinton administration and did not have much of a choice in this matter. With that in mind, the movie breaks down the incident into its most basic form: survival under extreme odds. Black Hawk Down is not merely a war movie, only palatable for for the action buffs. It is an honest look into human character under severe conditions, courage and the expensive price of peace. The heroic scene of Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon protecting downed pilot Mike Durrant is worth seeing or buying this movie alone. Shughart and Gordon were honored with the Medal of Honor for their actions. I came away from this movie with a feeling of quiet resolve for the young men portrayed in the movie and admiration for our armed forces. It really made me think about character in a different way and how important honor is.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmmmm
Review: I don't think that the word "Enchanting" actually qualifies for this movie. The story is every well crafted(the fictionalized stuff not the actual true events). There are even some elements of humor in the movie. It does a very good job of depiciting the massive mob-rush tactics of the Somalies. The only aspect of the flim that is lacking I think is that you never actually feel close to the guys doing the dying, many war films suffer from the same afliction. I don't think that this movie deserved 2 oscars but it was excellent never the less.
Rating:
Summary: in the thick of things
Review: This was one of the most incredible movies I have "experienced" in a long time. I say experienced because to watch it is to experience it. It is so exquisitely filmed that you can honestly feel the tension, the fear, the hopelessness and frustration of these men. Your eyes constantly dart from one part of the screen to another as the action typically explodes around you. The acting is top-notch and the script first rate. This picture deserved alot more recognition at the Oscars than it got. In my humble opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Overlong, focusing on details without overall clarity
Review: In typical Ridley Scott fashion, this film micro-focuses on details to an almost excruciating degree, while the big picture pales in a mirky background. Its length makes it overlong for what it is, lacking clear focus on plot, overall message, or taut action. I hoped to see clear indication of morale or lack thereof on the part of the soldiers. I hoped to see a sense of mission or lack thereof in the Somali war. I hoped to see a clear sense of whether these soldiers knew what they were fighting for, or whether the war for them was an exercise in confusion and/or futility. But none of those things came out clearly. Instead it just seemed like a disjointed sequence of often vivid clips with no clear whole emerging. The result would better befit a documentary of maximum length around 90 minutes. Some more successful war movies, like PLATOON, are clearly focused on an unrelenting sense of the horror of it all. Others, like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, are equally unrelenting in maintaining a sense of mission amidst the carnage. But this movie is caught in a no-person's land between those two poles. And for me at least, that was far less effective.
Rating:
Summary: Even the Tough Guys Can Cry watching this.
Review: Powerful and madening. Worst part is that is it all based on true facts (sure some license taken). These mem were true heroes, but never needed to me. Bas decisions at teh HIGHEST levels put them in harms way, and they shined. This movie is hard as hell to watch as it is britiant and painful. Show to your kids when they are old enough so they can understand the price of freedom....
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