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Review: "Black Hawk Down"
Posted on Feb. 10, 2002 by The Crystal Lich
"Black Hawk Down" proves even Jerry Bruckheimer knows a good thing when he's
got it. That 'good thing' has a name: Ridley Scott.
On October 3rd, 1993, an elite U.S. force of over 120 Deltas and Rangers
were dropped into Mogadishu, Somalia, with the purpose of capturing two lieutenants
of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid. Whether it was bad policy or bad intelligence,
the one hour daylight operation went sour and turned into an armed conflict
lasting long into the night.
Pay attention, Michael "Pearl Harbor" Bay! Listen up, Terrence "Thin Red
Line" Malick! Ridley Scott has put together a dramatized documentary of REAL
war; please note the lack of swimming native children and faux love triangles.
Note, also, the gritty, dirty, and dismembering reality of war, previously
experienced in "Saving Private Ryan" but this time coupled with the reality
that there was no real way to win and the bullets weren't going to suddenly
stop. Only the hope of escape and the pride of banding together would see
the soldiers through their ordeal, not the senseless sacifice of a cheating
friend or the sudden realization (after three hours) that war just plain
sucks.
The camera serves as a constant point-of-view of being on the streets of
Mogadishu right along side of overwhelmed soldiers trying in vain to stay
together. Resisting the urge to glorify the battle sequences with "Gladiator"-style
quick-cut edits, "Black Hawk Down" takes just enough time from scene to scene
to keep things moving but ensures enough time to think about what may be
coming next and worry about it. Watching this film felt like trying to survive
the battle itself, and every time the camera strays away from U.S. forces,
the sight of Delta or Ranger uniform is accompanied by a sigh of relief that
you're not there alone.
The actors are made to serve the story, not the other way around (although
some have more screentime than others.) Josh Harnett as Staff Sergeant Matt
Eversmann does well as a soldier suddenly put in charge just before a real
conflict; he's come a long way since fighting off alien invaders in "The
Faculty." Another import from "Pearl Harbor," Tom Sizemore plays Lt. Colonel
Danny McKnight to the hilt as a man that doesn't know when to quit. Look
for Eric Bana, Ewan McGregor, Jeremy Piven, Orlando Bloom, and Sam Shepard
(he finally made general!) as well as countless others names and faces, all
making "Black Hawk Down" as real as possible.
"Black Hawk Down" will not appeal to everyone and probably should be avoided
by anyone with an aversion to battle; it's hard to imagine any footage was
edited out due to its graphic nature. U.S. forces in Somalia essentially
bested themselves, underestimating their opponent and overestimating their
own superiority in making war, but Scott wisely avoids such questions of
U.S. motives (especially since there are boycotts going on about the subject
of the film.) A scene showing soldiers on foot exiting the city at dawn and
the Somalis simply watching them go is powerful; it was their war, not the
American's war or the United Nation's war. Those weren't the concerns of
the U.S. soldiers... that they left Mogadishu alive WAS.
(a three and a half skull recommendation out of four)
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