Black Hawk Down
Black Hawk Down Image
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Metascore
74 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 180 Ratings

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  • Starring: Josh Hartnett
  • Summary: Director Ridley Scott's adaptation of the true war story of the attack on a group of U.S. special forces sent into Somalia in 1993 to destabilize the government and bring food and humanitarian aid to the starving population.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 33
  3. Negative: 1 out of 33
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    Films like this are more useful than gung-ho capers like "Behind Enemy Lines." They help audiences understand and sympathize with the actual experiences of combat troops, instead of trivializing them into entertainments.
  2. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    80
    As brilliantly shot as it is brutally single-minded, this is a war movie shorn of all its usual accouterments: the battle is the plot.
    All this critic's reviews
  3. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Ken Fox
    60
    No doubt captures some of the horror and the chaos of the actual situation, but it makes for a loud, often confusing, and always bloody two and a half hours.
  4. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    25
    Perhaps they truly believe war is an inescapable aspect of human life. If so, why make movies that rub our faces in its horror? If artists have no antidote to war's evil or insight into the suffering it brings, their motive in depicting it must be merely to sensationalize its terrors and make money from the morbid fascination it holds for audiences. We deserve better.

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 90
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 90
  3. Negative: 11 out of 90
  1. jennyb
    10
    Black Hawk Down is a movie worth seeing. Non-stop packed action, and thrill. You really see what these soldiers go through. I would rate this movie in my own top 2! Very well done!!… Expand
  2. kublay0880
    8
    Some critics say that the director (Scott) doesn't tell the whole story about the rebellion in Somalia and I agree, but I also think that if you watch these movie you have take under consideration two things: first the title off the movie and second that the title of the movie tells you, on whom perspective is this story being told and this is from the US soldiers perspective. Don't get mad for a movie that represents an American being a hero, this has happened all the way from the beginning in the movies industry.The movie does have great special effects and you can feel the frustration and fear of the soldiers in the battle field. It also has a great cast.… Expand
  3. grandpajoe6191
    6
    Ridley Scott's true-story-based "Black Hawk Down" is too broad for the picture. During a monotonous 2 hours, the so called 'realism' is seen in his never ending battlefield where the U.S gets all the respect and bad-ass deaths with last line memorable quotes spurring out from their tongues. BUT. I still give credit for his decision to portray a battle lost by the US. I think it's one of the first non-bias-tried movies.… Expand
  4. MarkS
    3
    Only action and technical prefection are trying to keep this on a high level. That is too poor. The real story is untold and so the audience can't understand real reason, why the riots really began. Unbelievable that Ridley Scott produced such a low-level story. If you look at the picture of the somali-citizens, all of them were showen as brainless, killing terrorists. One of many fault facts which were sold as truth in this movie. Because of showing only the chronology of battle scenes, without telling the whole story of this UN-mission, ths movie will not reach more than 3 points.… Expand

See all 90 User Reviews

Trailers

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