"oh shame where is thy blush"

Rating: Null/10 (4 November 2002)

BHD is a good action movie, the whole fight that develops in mogadishu is brilliantly converted to the big screen, it makes the viewer think (s)he is in the middle of the battle -like saving private ryan did at omaha beach. Especially in dolby surround or DTS.
There are a few flaws, well A LOT of flaws, like, as noted before, the political statement ...what political statement? Like "behind enemy lines" BHD tries to be ... political engaged by a few words at the beginning and at the end and a little bit about the somali clans that run mogadishu just before the fight. The problem is that the film is basically one scene: the fight.
That part is done brilliantly well as any R. Scott movie. If Scott had stayed with that plan nothing would have gone wrong, except that the movie would have been just another war movie (except the setting -somalia- and that it would have been a great war movie.
Unfortunately we meet lots of soldiers -and I mean a lot... the only 5 I could distinguish were Bana, McGregor, Sizemore and the guy from armageddon and pearl harbor ...fichtner. But even then : the all wore the same clothes, helmets and had the same hairstyles It really made the feel of confusion poor from the screen because the viewer had no idea who was shot to pieces. But I can't help to wonder if that was the idea. This way all the imposed tearjerk-moments (like the guy who can't get his wife on the phone just before they go into action -you know by now, of course he won;t make it back alive or the guy that loses his backplate bodyarmour whom you know is gonna get shot in the back lose their dubious purpose. I can't tell one soldier from another so I have to ASSUME that when one is shot in the back it is the guy without his back plate.
And even then this film could do without all sentimental moments, it is too much, it is like every trick in the book is opened so you, me the viewer will feel even more with these poor americans. WHY? they are CANNON FODDER? Maybe it is to get the girls into the cinema, I don't know.
Of course all Somali are portayed as 3rd world trash and even more sentimental tricks are used to make the americans seem even more heroic.
In a "realistic" depiction of war we could do without all of that embellischment. There is nothing heroic about war, it's hell incarnated.

AND now the circle is complete, for hell incarnated is perfectly depicted by scott.
OF Course another thing to think about are the 19 americans thet died, they are NAMED, and though I think that they should be remembered,
putting the somali casualties in as "several 1000" ... I don't know I don't have the right words for it. It shows the lack of respect for the somali. I guess That's why they are depicted as savages with AK47 instead of spears...
"oh shame where is thy blush"
It makes the film not as neutral as it should (or could, take your pick) have been.
But look on the bright side ... if you take away all the needless sentimental embellishment and remove the useless political themes it still is one hell of an action rollercoster, brilliantly directed, edited, scored (as in music) and shot (as in cinematographic)