Gritty, Raw, and Powerful

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 2011)

Black Hawk Down may be one of the greatest war movies ever made. Without glorifying anything, it shows the stress, adrenaline, terror and loss of warfare. Ridley Scott has earned a reputation for making great war films (especially medieval) so there are no surprises when excellence is found here.
As the viewer, you may not utter a single breath from beginning to end. But one thought may cross your mind: "I'm glad I wasn't there". That "there" is Somalia in 1993. A violent, starving city run by a corrupt government. Militia flood the streets. And I'll tell you this right now: few things are more terrifying than the devotion of these militants. They want the American troops out of their city, and they'll stop at nothing to get that message across.
All the actors are excellent. Josh Hartnett, Ewan MacGregor and Tom Sizemore earn great marks from me. The sound editing was also excellent, as every bullet ricochet and shell explosion pounds into your eardrums, allowing you to forget nothing.
Watch it. It will put images in your mind for a long time.