Amazing Battle Scenes

Rating: Null/10 (14 February 2002)

WOW! I can't imagine what it took to make this film. It was so realistic! It is definitely an impressive accomplishment director Ridley Scott. The fighting scenes were very believable. I am guessing that they actually filmed it on location in Somalia, if not, then it is an amazing recreation. Nearly the whole movie is action from the failed 1993 mission. `Black Hawk' is definitely one of the best-recreated battles of all time. The action is well filmed.
`Black Hawk' is about a failed mission, so it is somewhat critical of our military. The movie portrays Major General William Garrison, played by Sam Shepard, somewhat negatively. Obviously, it was his plan that failed and cost our soldiers' lives. The movie also implies that the United States would have been better prepared had they notified the Pakistani military of the raid, or had General Garrison had a contingency plan in place to rescue the troops if they came upon enemy fire. The troops were trapped in the hostile zone, and they had to wait for hours before being rescued. They underestimated the enemy and had poor communication while in battle, which spelled disaster for the U.S. military. However, the men that fought are truly heroes. The soldiers' `don't leave anyone behind' attitude is something to respect and admire.
I did have some minor problems with the movie. While all of the actors gave great performances, the script was corny at times. For example, Ewan McGregor's character, Specialist Danny Grimes, kept talking about making coffee throughout the whole movie, as sort of a running gag. The script was straight forward, `in battle' dialogue. For example, there was the usual dialogue about how a soldier should not question an order; he should just follow the orders.
Another thing that annoyed me about the movie was the use of many of the same actors from other war movies. It was like watching all of the other movies all together, and made "Black Hawk" less distinct. Josh Hartnet, as young Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann, was in Pearl Harbor as well. Hartnet was actually very good in Black Hawk. And there are two other lesser-known actors that you will recognize from Pearl Harbor.
Tom Sizemore, who plays Lt. Colonel Danny McKnight, was also in Pearl Harbor as well as Saving Private Ryan. Sizemore plays the ultimate macho-man. Somehow he is never concerned about any of the thousands of Somalis that are shooting at him. While the rest of the soldiers are taking cover and running, he never ducks or tries to get out of the way. And, of course, they never manage to shoot him. Well, he does get grazed on his neck. I was excited to see Australian actor Eric Bana. Bana plays Sergeant 1st Class Norm "Hoot" Hooten. He is a tough guy, hero type that is a fearless, yet humble, soldier. Bana is a rising star that is destined to be a star, like fellow countryman Russell Crowe. Bana was in "Chopper" last year, which was a good movie about infamous serial killer, Mark 'Chopper' Read. Bana was great as 'Chopper', and I was pleasantly surprised with his performance in Black Hawk.
The bottom line is that this is a serious `guy' movie with some awesome fighting scenes, and it makes our guys look like heroes, despite failing to accomplish their objective. It is well worth the 143 minutes. 8 of 10