Black Hawk Down Review
by Bob Bloom (bobbloom AT iquest DOT net)January 16th, 2002
BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001) 3 1/2 stars out of 4. Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremmer, Sam Shepard and Ron Eldard. Music by Hans Zimmer. Director of photography Slawomir Idziak. Screenplay by Ken Nolan. Based on the book by Mark Bowden. Directed by Ridley Scott. Rated R. Approx. 2 1/2 hours.
Black Hawk Down graphically evinces the brutality and futility of war.
Based on a true story, Black Hawk Down covers the mission of an elite group of U.S. soldiers in the war-ravaged city of Mogadishu, Somalia, in October 1993. But first, some background: In 1993 Somalia was in the throes of civil war and famine. More than 300,000 people had died.
The militia under the command of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aided was stealing all the incoming U.N. relief food supplies.
The objective of the U.S. soldiers that October day was to abduct two of Aided’s top lieutenants as part of a strategy to try to quell the fighting. Unfortunately, the mission goes awry, resulting in the deaths of 19 soldiers and the wounding of dozens of others.
Throughout the history of cinema, filmmakers have creatively transformed military blunders or defeats into either indictments of war, moral victories or lessons in heroism. Glory is one such example, They Died With Their Boots On, in which Custer’s Last Stand is presented not as a military blunder, but as a deliberate sacrifice to aid the Indians, is another.
The objective of director Ridley Scott and screenwriter Ken Nolan, who adapted Mark Bowden’s best-selling book, is not to cast blame, but to extol the brotherhood and camaraderie of the soldier’s life as well as to give the audience a close-up look at the horrors of battle.
Photographed in a style reminiscent of the opening of Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan as well as the recent HBO series, Band of Brothers, Black Hawk Down in an unflinching examination of war. Those with queasy stomachs are advised to stay home.
Director of photography Slawomir Idziak’s technique is part combat photographer, and part audience voyeur. At times you almost feel like running for cover when he bullets are flying.
Another of the film’s attributes is Hans Zimmer’s martial-like score with its mournful undertone.
In a film such as this, the cast members can become lost among the carnage, but a few performances should be recognized.
Among them are Josh Hartnett as the idealistic Staff Sgt. Matt Eversmann, whose mettle is tested during his first taste of command; Tom Sizemore as veteran Ranger Lt. Col Danny McKnight, whose professionalism and coolness under fire probably saved lives; and Ron Eldard as Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant, pilot of one of the downed Black Hawk choppers.
To its benefit, Black Hawk Down lacks a pronounced political agenda. It graphically shows the atrocities of Aided’s militia. It also deals with the lack of definitive intelligence on which U.S. military leaders had to base life-and-death decisions, such as the bloody foray into Mogadishu, and it does so without pointing fingers or leveling blame.
At 2 1/2 hours, Black Hawk Down becomes a tad repetitious as the small band of U.S. forces fight for survival from street to street against what seems like an overwhelming number of Somalians. It seems as if every man, woman and child in Mogadishu has a weapon, and thousands are killed or wounded. The images are disturbing.
The blood cascades like a swollen river in Black Hawk Down. Some sequences will make you cringe. However, the feature's emphasis on the interaction between the besieged soldiers, their professionalism and matter-of-fact heroism, raises it above the standard war drama.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or at [email protected]. Other reviews by Bloom can be found by going to www.jconline.com and clicking on golafayette.
Bloom's reviews also can be found on the Web at the Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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