Rating: 
Summary: A no-spoiler review.
Review: I'm a big fan of Mark Bowden's book on which this movie is based. Like the book, the film stirs in the viewer simultaneous pride and shame. The individual courage of the men portrayed is as sincere and valiant as that displayed in any battle. Yet the human error, and the overriding question of "why?" is ever-present. Is this a war movie? Or an anti-war movie?In the end, it's both. This is not Rambo (or Behind Enemy Lines for that matter) in which war serves as a bloody back-drop for melodramatic and jingoistic super hero tales. But it's not Apocalypse Now or Platoon with their blazing anti-war ideology napalming the audience. (For Vietnam-set films, Black Hawk Down is most closely akin to Hamburger Hill.) Rather, this is an anti-war film in the way Darryl Zanuck once described his movie, The Longest Day, as an anti-war film . Like Zanuck's film, Black Hawk Down is a tribute to the heroes of battle (although much more graphically). At the same time, both films leave viewers wondering if the carnage is worth it; surely there's a better way? Black Hawk Down is the most realistic fire-fight film set in the post-Vietnam era. The military, from Pentagon to private, will give it a hearty salute. At the same time, its message clearly does not glorify nor condone war; especially not one in which we tie the hands of field command nor can articulate its reasons or goals. It is a powerful film. And timely. And honest to the book. Although the book does provide a more honest context in which to judge whether or not the historical battle was a success. After viewing the film, I agree with its obvious message: War is about the man standing at your side. Heroism springs more often than not from duty to him rather than to country or cause.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely magnificent
Review: I just saw this movie today and i loved it. You need to see this movie in theaters. When it comes out on dvd put it on a widescreen television. It's absolutely mandatory for this film. It's extremely accurate and bonechilling. You have to see this film. You will be proud to see this film. Also you will be proud to be an American of this nation. See it now.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much theatrics, too little story
Review: I was in high school when the U.S. was involved in Somalia, so the events depicted in _Black Hawk Down_ were familiar. The movie didn't explain very well why American troops were in Somalia in the first place and why they were so hated by the "skinnys" (Somalis) that fateful day in October 1993. True, the opening captions gave some hint that U.S. troops were originally sent there as a humanitarian mission. However, there was little emphasis of the fact that many Somalis started to hate the Americans because the operation shifted from feeding the starving to "nation building" under the United Nations and capturing General Mohammed Farrah Aidid. Without this info the viewer probably wonders, "Why are they so p----d off at us?" The frustration with the UN bureaucracy and the Clinton administration were real, especially when the Pentagon refused to send armored vehicles for support in Somalia. _Black Hawk Down_ had too much emphasis on the attacks of October 3. All the scenes with the helicopters and the battle in Mogadishu were intense, but in my opinion, the special effects don't simply make a movie good, you need a story. They didn't get into the aftermath of the U.S. intervention, where it was the Somali population that suffered most. I saw the movie hoping that I might find out if there was any truth to the rumors that Osama bin Laden had a role in the Oct. 3 attack, but didn't get any answer. Oh well.
Rating: 
Summary: Racist Excitement
Review: I agree that the film is technically accomplished, but what isn't these days? I also think that complaints about lack of characterization are overdrawn. ... And as a final preliminary, let me say that I thought President Bush's (I) decision to send troops into Somalia was a good one, Clinton's decision to pull out was bad, and that I admire the bravery and committment of the American soldiers. All that being said, this film is xenophobic and racist. Think of other great American failures portrayed in film, such as the Alamo, and you'll see why. Although ithe film proposes to be describing events, in fact the basic message of the film is that an American life is worth twenty non-American lives, and that the proper perspective through which to see events is the American perspective alone. This is explicit at the end, when the names of the 18 men who were killed are scrolled on the screen, but the information that 1000 Somalis were killed is simply flashed by. It's as if the Somalis were just characters in a video game, to be shot down in order to gain points.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Movie!
Review: This does an outstanding job of depicting what really happened in Somalia in the early '90s. The acting is good and the action sequences (pretty much the entire movie) are incredible. You do not get to know the characters too much, but you know and understand them just enough to feel real compassion for them. I will be going back. Great Movie!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: I think that Black Hawk Down definately kicked off the new year. It was very realistic and maybe a little more violent than I expected, but it is still an excellent movie. They did a great job with it and I'd recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Another one-sided American ....
Review: I don't really know if this review is going to be published or something, but I don't want to sound too critically anti-American. But the basic and very important bummer Ridley Scott did was to left out "other sides" that helped the American soldiers escaped Mogadishu safely. The film is certainly one of the best films I've seen, more intense than Saving Private Ryan, very bloody, loads of gunfights and direction which draws audiences into the war itself. A much redeeming fare than the ... Pearl Harbor, but I can only justify this film on one-star because of sidelining of Pakistani and Malaysian troops which saddened me. My country lost one life just to save foreigners out of a savage battlefield, and many Malaysians as well as Pakistanis too, who had countryman killed in combat, feels throughly insulted after watching. One may question; one Malaysian, no big deal compared with 18 Americans. I'm not trying to downplay their significance of their lives, but a life is a life, and a loss of one life is as worst as 18 as well. Furthermore, this film is like a ... of Zulu film; basically white domination movie which potrays why non-whites are barbarians which should be treated worst than dogs. The so-called "skinnies"(Somalis) here are potrayed totally bloody, sadistic freaks, whereas 3,000 of their lives are taken away for trying to defend their motherland. This statement may outrage you, but these Somalis are just doing what any normal countrymen will do; defend themselves from foreign domination. I don't want to "ban" readers here from watching this movie. It's a TERRIFIC watch, only if you remember there are people who are other than Americans who have died in that horrifying event.
Rating:
Summary: Haunting, realistic, and truly unforgettable.
Review: From its heartwrenching beginning to its heartbreaking end, "Black Hawk Down" is a thing of sheer beauty, a wondrous spectacle of the physical brutalities of combat and, by extension, the emotional stress and trauma that each individual in battle must confront when placed in the most hostile of situations. Based on the actual events that took place in Somalia at a time of unrest and fighting, the movie so brilliantly captures history in equal parts style and substance, all the while tugging at the heartstrings with overwhelming emotion and an authentic sense of American patriotism long absent from much of today's modern war films. Somalia, 1993. The country is a desolate wasteland, ravished by widespread famine as a result of power-hungry leader Muhammad Farrah Aidid, who uses poverty as his weapon. Determined to put an end to Aidid's reign of terror, American forces devise a plan to capture his key conspirators in a mission they conclude will take little more than an hour. Everything goes off without a hitch, but as the American troops search for a way out of Mogadishu, the threat of the enemy begins to grow, and soon, they are surrounded by gunfire, bombs, grenades, and bloodshed that carry on into the next morning, 16 hours after their mission was under way. The movie is the latest in a resurfacing genre of war epics and thrillers, which began with Steven Speilberg's "Saving Private Ryan" and has continued through to the new millennium's brand of flat blockbusters like the melodramatic "Enemy at the Gates" and the jingoistic "Behind Enemy Lines." It's a bit of a surprise that a movie such as this should come from the makers of last year's two most disappointing films, "Pearl Harbor" and "Hannibal." At the hands of producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Ridley Scott, "Black Hawk Down" could have easily been just another war film; thankfully, it's much more than that. This teaming of pyromaniac Bruckheimer and the visionary Scott results in an impeccable depiction of combat and a war-torn Mogadishu. The wind-blown terrain of Somalia is filmed in dull hues, with a gradual descent into darkness that elevates the tension. Sequences of battle are filmed in a manner that places us right in the middle of the action, revealing the gritty, unflinching reality of war only a soldier knows. Never once does this stylistic approach overstep its boundaries: whereas a movie like "Pearl Harbor" blatantly showcases its special effects while shying away from the brutal reality of battle, this film doesn't concern itself with a PG-13 rating by keeping mum about the harsh conditions of death and bloodshed in times of hostility. Instead, it settles for an uncompromisingly blunt approach that not only keeps the action at a fever pitch, but also conveys the brutality of such a situation. The movie also chooses to portray its characters not as mere pawns in a game of chess, but as humans who feel love, humor, and above all else, fear. In their fear they press on, returning to the base after hours of ongoing battle only to willingly return to save those trapped within the city limits, evoking a grand feeling of patriotism that, for the first time in a long time, feels real. The all-star cast, perhaps the best ensemble cast of the year, conveys this combination of emotional stress and sense of duty with solid performances. There are images in "Black Hawk Down" that will haunt me for years to come, those of mangled bodies, innocent civilians caught in the middle of crossfire, people that we come to care about instantly losing their lives. But what elevates it from a mere physical exercise is its human approach to its characters, instilling them with emotions that quickly become our own as we begin to comprehend the trauma such an event as this unleashes. How to describe the experience? In a word: unforgettable.
Rating:
Summary: THE best movie ever!
Review: This is THE best movie I have ever seen. I was blown away by this movie. It was well directed, well acted, and well written. It has a simple plot: following the men who fought in Somalia. Being based on a true story, there was not much they could do. But they didn't HAVE to do anything. It is perfect the way it is. Very graphic at parts, but it really shows what war is like. I even got tears in my eyes at some parts, especially the end, when they showed the names of the men who died. I recommend everybody to go see this.
Rating:
Summary: Best War Movie Since Saving Private Ryan
Review: This is the best war movie I've seen since Saving Private Ryan. It was a lot better than Pearl Harbor. I would reccomend this movie to anyone who likes war movies
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