Technical masterpiece, historically selective

Rating: 6/10 (12 March 2012)

As always Ridley Scott delivers an audiovisual feast. I would expect that the on-set ex-military advisors ensured that the scenarios and skills, including the language and tactics were as authentic as filming and military policy would allow. The DVD extras shows that the cast was sent to taste boot-camp (McGregor, Bloom) and Ranger training (Fitchner) so the commitment to realism was evident. For all those reasons: six stars.
Many people, however, rightly dispute the film's casting of the soldiers as a peacekeeping force. No government in the world uses special forces people for peacekeeping operations, by which I mean: restore order. It's entirely opposite to what they normally do, i.e. be used as a top-grade scalpel: only when "necessary" surgery is needed.
Decaptiating Aidid's regime would only create a power vacuum. It would not help the UN peacekeepers. Without a long-term commitment to the region, it was simply a period of upheaval that cost thousands more innocent lives. If only Somalia had oil reserves...
As a film, it's beautifully done. As propaganda, it probably hit the mark for people (i.e. Americans) who didn't bother (or want) to look too closely. Watch it for its beauty and its (at the time) groundbreaking tight camera shots and skillfully choreographed and executed events.