A Dunderheaded Combat Film from Ridley Scott

Rating: 4/10 (26 July 2010)

Ridley Scott followed up his thunderous and bombastic (and inexplicably Oscar-winning) "Gladiator" with this equally thunderous and bombastic combat film.
Heavy handed as they come, "Black Hawk Down" tried to position itself at the time as the next "Saving Private Ryan," a thinking man's war film. Too bad the film is dumb as a stump, well choreographed but a big zero in the story and character department. No matter how well executed battle scenes are, they're not overly engaging if not anchored to a story or people we care about. Missing those elements, this film is a monotonous bore, and an excruciatingly long one at that.
Nominated for 4 technical Oscars, the film won for Best Film Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
Grade: C-