Bad Intel + Poor Policy = Dead American Soldiers

Rating: Null/10 (20 January 2002)

Blackhawk Down exploits the tragic events of Somalia for use as a platform to unleash some of the best extended fighting scenes of any war movie. The scenes, at times incredibly life-like, are shot with outrageous depth and scale; missiles seem to come right out at you from the background, shots of helicopters feel so close you almost feel you're there, inside, and of course, a whole lot of bloody injuries, gunshot wounds, and lost limbs to bring it all home.
The reasons for why the US found itself there are presented in terse fashion, the historical component being largely set up in the opening few minutes of the film, including on-screen comments explaining the situation leading up to the loss of American lives. After this point though, what we get is a highly stylized "get to know the characters" session, with a lot of male bonding and competitive angst between Army Rangers and Delta Force team members. After thirty or fourty minutes, I feared the worst for "Blackhawk Down", it was looking like, despite Ridley Scott's involvement, it might seriously fall victim to the typical Bruckheimer shlock element seen in Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, etc. I just didn't need the fluff, the male bonding-Top Gun testosterone crap. What would have been good is a serious treatment of the political blunders and foreign policy conundrum that led up to the events. But then, just when I let out a sigh, the fighting scenes kicked in and, almost as if the makers of BlackHawk Down knew it was precisely the right time to shift gears, I get swept up in the action. If you've seen Private Ryan, you have some idea of what level of graphic violence Blackhawk down presents. This film banks on its audience desiring action over answers, death of documentary, and it delivers. Scott's direction, as usual, is fantastic. But again, this is a film that serves as a catalyst for a war movie, the sad truth is that it really didn't matter what the historical reasons are that created the context for Blackhawk Down. Blackhawk down's war scenes could have been from any of a number of wars past and present. Obviously, it does bring back into focus the tragedy that befell our American troops in Somalia a decade ago. And the timing, of course, couldn't have been better. But we really don't learn much about the real behind the scenes story of what went on back in DC, and the aftermath of the tragedy. Now that I've seen the bloody but stylized battles of "Blackhawk Down", I'm hoping to see a quality documentary on this tragedy.