a dangerous, dangerous movie...

Rating: 1/10 (25 March 2002)

I didn't really had any expectations for this flick to begin with, I merely went because I loved some of Scott's earlier features like Alien and Blade Runner. Black hawk Down wasn't nearly as bad I expected it to be... it was much, much worse! As a modern action film it worked descent enough, I guess. I must admit though that i'm getting really tired of computer generated fx - unless it's used to express something new (like in Cronenbergs eXistenZ) it just ruins the action and make things dull. Anyway, the action part was quite well made.
This is what made me disgusted and angry: this movie is described by the director as a documentary-style war movie, that doesn't take sides and just show the truth of what war really is like. Ridley is either the biggest liar alive or simply unaware of what signals the movie is really sending out to it's viewers. It's a flag-waving morale-booster/recruiting film for the American public. It tells us that all American involvement in foreign affairs is good and honest, and that being a soldier equals being a hero. The Somalies are portrayed in a very one-dimensional, and in a way racist, way. The movie was partly funded by the pentagon so i'm sure it doesn't take sides I'm not saying that patriotism is a bad thing or that America is a bad country (it's in many respects a great one), but i'm positively sure that this movie is not the movie that should unite Americans after 11 September. It will only add to the already dominant American view that "we are the best & we're always right" that I think is very destructive (both for America & the World).
So if you're really want some flag-waving see American Beauty again and rediscover the America we all love. If war movies are your genre, I recommend Three Kings, a fun and human third world-war movie that shows a more complex view on modern warfare and humanity in general.

But avoid Black Hawk Down by any means necessary. Ridley Scott - you're out of my good-book.