Black Hawk Down

Rating:
Summary: Awesome war movie!
Review: Ridley Scott is my favorite director and he is one of the reasons i want to get into the film business. Some of the most realistic war scenes ever, this movie is great!

Rating:
Summary: One of the worst Movies I have seen
Review: This is simply one long war scene with no character development at all.

Sure, it may well portray what war is really like but that's about the sum of it. Nothing more nothing less.

Rating:
Summary: One BIG Lie
Review: Financed by Pentagon, this film turns out to be a propaganda movie for the US Army. The sensitivity for other cultures and politics ends where it started: in front of tv which is creating nothing but illusions. My advice: don't let yourself be manipulated

Rating:
Summary: Good movie, but still disappointing
Review: Black Hawk Down is a good war movie, and it portrays the dramas and tragedy, but it is impossible to actually follow the battle. The book was much better, and I think making this such an action movie is a bit of a disservice to the story. I think That's just the combination of people involved in making the film, who have a strong background in action movies. I hope someone retells this story later, in a more subdued sense. Still, it is an exciting movie and it is worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: BHD is a movie that is only fun to watch with a home theater system with out it it gets kinda boring to me. It is one of my all-time favorite war movies. My only beef is the DVD has barely any extras. Final score: 4/5

Rating:
Summary: Not much to say
Review: This is quite possibly the worst thing I have ever seen commited to celluloid. This will be buried in a time capsule labeled "things George W. Bush did to our mental well being".

Rating:
Summary: WANTED: American Special Edition!
Review: Best war movie to date! My only compliant is with the DVD. In UK and else were the DVD was released in a 2-Disk special edition, which is only in region two format, meaning you cannot watch it on American players. The special edition includes the following DVD Special Features:

Disc One:
Features plus three Commentaries, including Director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer
Filmmaker and cast biographies

Disc Two:
Eight Deleted/Alternative Scenes
Six Essence of Combat Featurettes
Seven Image and Design Featurettes including Jerry Bruckheimer's On Set Photography

I would really like to see this released in the states. I'm sure once they soak enough people into buying the single disk DVD they will release a "Special Edition".

Rating:
Summary: Who is at fault for Mogadishu?
Review: There is somewhat of a debate over who is to blame for the October 1993 incident in Mogadishu. I will try to present a viewpoint of it.

In late 1992, with his term as President coming to an end, George Bush senior sent American troops to Somalia, after some pressure from groups such as the United Nations, to act as humanitarians by aiding the people there. Thus, you can blame Bush for committing us (And, if you want to go further, blame the U.N for pressuring involvement). However, when Clinton took office, he had the humanitarians removed and Rangers and Delta Forces put in their place. The situation was also escalated: The Battle of Mogadishu (Which is also the event shown in "Black Hawk Down") occurred as a result of the hunt for one of the Somalia Warlords and for some of his top men. Much different from the intentions of Bush senior. So, you can blame Clinton as well.

I come from a family that is pro-republican, so I can't help but pick up on some of their beliefs. I do admit that Bush has some of the blame, but I also think he had the best of intentions for doing so. Some of my relatives talk of Clinton like he was Hitler. Fault can be put on him solely for the fact he was our leader at the time. But he too had good intentions by having a mission planned to go after those responsible for the violence. To end the harm being done to the civilians, is there any better solution then going after the roots of the evil?

The real blame for the battle's outcome was in the planning of the raid. The U.S underestimated the strength and skill of the Somalia troops whiles overestimating itself. We thought it would be a straight hit and run mission, taking no more than half an hour to an hour. Our men also weren't supplied with proper air and ground support (The pentagon said it was to prevent escalating the conflict, forgetting that sending in armed troops was defeating that purpose). In the end, we had about 18 dead and many more wounded, two helicopters shot down (With one pilot held hostage) and embarrassment on our faces. The defeat in Somalia still echoes in our military: Nowadays, the policy is that we have the will to get involved in fights we have no part of, yet won't go all the way in terms of suffering casualties. The U.N, Bush, Clinton, our army generals, troops and everyone else could not have foreseen what would happen and shouldn't have their whole careers judged solely by this. Still, they all should have anticipated that something bad might occur: As stated in "Bridge on the River Kwai", 'Expect the unexpected'.

Now as to what I thought of "Black Hawk Down". I thought it was a compelling war picture with some gut-wrenching battle scenes. I also liked how it avoided being patriotic cornball or a sadistic accusation (Though understandable, considering it came out after 9/11). However, it was often hard to tell who was who during the battle scenes. And many people are upset by the lack of human involvement with the characters (Not me though: I've heard some good theories about the men being developed as a unit rather than as individuals. And what did you want instead: The cliched stock characters as used in past war movies?). Still, four stars and a recommendation from me.

Rating:
Summary: Think about it
Review: If the experience in Somalia had not occured, there would not have been a book about it and subsequently, no movie. If you need a reason to support this nation's military, see Black Hawk Down.

Rating:
Summary: There IS a Spotlight Performance In This Film
Review: Great movie, you all covered the reasons why. But one of you said there really isnt a performance to pick out of the bunch. I beg to differ: as usual, Tom Sizemore steals the screen and makes another great performance, easily the most talented actor cast in this film as Colonel McKnight. Bar none, a great underrated actor of today. When they aren't showing footage of the convoy, you will find yourself yearning to get back to the convoy, and get back with Sizemore. Every film he's in, you feel comfortable when he's onscreen. That's a good actor. By the way, the book does the same thing. You yearn to get back to the convoy with Colonel McKnight. That's why Tom Sizemore is a great actor. Very few have this gift, to mention a couple: Robert DeNiro, and James Gandolfini.