African ALIENS

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2002)

BLACK HAWK DOWN is visually spectacular with good performances from some fine actors, but the superficial script lets it down badly. By athletically avoiding the politics of the conflict, it treats the Somalis as motiveless monsters, so the movie feels more like ALIENS or a video game than a serious film. The implicit racism is highlighted by the depiction of the Pakistanis, who are depicted as comedy relief rather than rescuers. Much of the dialogue seems to have been cut-and-pasted from old war movies and recruiting ads, and characterisation almost disappears amid the explosions, helicopter shots, and showers of spent cartridges. All that's left in the end is yet another siege movie with new hardware - a rather routine depiction of courage under fire, without the courage to examine other issues.