What puzzles me the most...

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2017)

I was thrilled by this film in the theater when it first came out, and I've subsequently watched it, or sections of it, dozens of times at home. Each time, I admire its brilliant direction, editing, sound, music, the rhythm of the action, and the sheer beauty of many of the shots. Ridley Scott has made some classic films and (more recently) some disappointing ones. This, I think, is his best.
But it's definitely confusing as hell, and even after all these viewings -- even after having read Mark Bowden's book (which the film follows very closely) -- I have trouble keeping track of all the various characters: the Deltas, the Rangers, and their complicated movements around war-torn Mogadishu.
Most confusing of all -- something that puzzles me each time I see the film (and which the book fails to clear up) -- is why this poorly planned military operation was ever okayed in the first place. As depicted on screen, it seems the most harebrained scheme imaginable, because it's so ridiculously vulnerable, just one tiny step away from utter failure.
All it takes to screw up the mission is a lone RPG fired at one of the low-flying helicopters. And hovering in the air just above the rooftops, the choppers make the easiest of targets; a single strike with a rocket can bring one down, and when one goes down (followed shortly afterward, of course, by a second), the entire mission turns into a colossal disaster.
Sam Shepard, playing the general in charge, is, as always, an impressive figure, but you want to shout at him, "You idiot! What were you thinking?"