SummaryDirector 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.
SummaryDirector 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.
Not just a thoughtless quip-and-rip action blockbuster - decently memorable characters, precise tactical narrative, and a good amount of heart. And surprisingly, bridging the edge of my gore tolerance but not too overwhelmingly violent for me.
This movie is probably one of the best war-movies ever made. In my own opinion, the actors playing their individual characters feel very authentic and really sticks out one by one. Sincerely touching, even though there is a lot of controversy about the US army today. There is not much to say than: “go and watch it”, I can definitely promise an amazing journey through the human ways of war and terror and/or reality of life and death, assuming you love movies and in that case especially war-movies. With that written and on a final note, the music really lifts the movie up and makes it one of my favourite movies of all time. 10/10.
Absolutely harrowing, shocking in its sudden revelatory immediacy, and very, very well done, Black Hawk Down is one of the best depictions of the outright lunacy inherent to battle I have ever seen.
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.
This movie, which by the way, is based of a book of the same name written in 1999 by Mark Bowden is a great way to teach and learn about the events that happened in the Battle of Mogadishu. I, however, knew about this particular battle before watching the movie gave me a new perspective on the battle. It was a very depressing and horrid event, but I am glad to say that this movie is very good and you can watch it free on Netflix now so why not watch it? Anyways, I can gladly say that movie has aged well and is still a pleasure to watch. I really do feel the emotions and hardship the troops went through. The key players in this are the U.S. Special Forces (160th SOAR, Delta Force, and the 75th Rangers) and Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his militia, who by the way, are blocking the food/medicine supplies as their weapon. So the US Special Forces are sent in after an attack on UN and Pakistani troops. The movie is all about the title "Black Hawk Down" for those of you who don't know a Black Hawk is a military helicopter. A helicopter crashes and ground troops and helicopters are reverted to go back to the crash site to get back the survivors and equipment. Anyways, now that you know the plot, the movie acts this out very well and I think the SFX were brilliant for their age. I also loved the cast of characters and their role in the movie, they all seem connected. I love military movies and documentaries, so this review may be a bit biased. BUT, compared to the other horrible military movies out there this is a must watch for anyone, really.
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.
This film is based on an actual US military operation that went wrong and left several US military personnel surrounded by hostile forces in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. The film tries to portray the facts, but I do not know how faithful it was to them. Its likely that much of it has been subverted to emphasize the dramatic effect. It's a war movie, so it's full of intense fighting and fighting scenes. They are the strongest part of the movie, and were truly well made. Through these scenes, its very easy for the public to move to the scene and fight alongside the gi's.
The major problem with this film is its inability to convey the lesson learned by the Americans in Somalia. The lesson is that America can not be the police of the world, and that it should not interfere in the internal problems of other countries lightly, as it did in Somalia (and other countries, usually with the worst consequences). The film never reflects on this either on the bad consequences of war, or from ill-thought military operations. It's just an excuse for a war movie with Americans dying and killing enemies like sparrows, which removes the film from any depth or meaning. If you had chosen to think about it, it could easily be compared to an "Apocalypse Now", for example. This iconic film speaks not only of the Vietnam War but also of how war affects all, winners and losers, for the worse. There is a profound message behind this film. There is no such thing here. It is a war movie that justifies itself, and loses quality with it. The film does not even dare to show the failure that was truly the American intervention in Somalia. At this point, it is simply advertisement. It is a propaganda piece to the heroism and blind patriotism of the Americans.
The cast plays a fairly reasonable role, but with a script condemned at the start and highly partial, we can not expect miracles. The characters are very poorly developed, to the point that the public quickly loses the notion of who is who in the ray of the film. Losing that feeling is halfway to losing interest in what is happening. But as I said, the movie's strong point is action, and everything else was kind of relegated to the background by the production team. It's a good looking action movie or a movie that attempts to show real military combat. But compared to other war films, it's pretty primary, it gets boring and confusing, it does not appeal to everyone and it's easily forgettable.
A pure propaganda movie from Hollywood with no substance, context or theme. No doubt that it gives the military industrial complex a permanent hard-on.
It's not only littered with factual errors starting with the very first quote which is wrongly attributed. Not to mention that there were other armies involved (Pakistan for example), who did the bulk of the work. It's a shame that so much money and starpower literally gets blown to shreds for this glorified commercial.