Flawed look at reality of war

Rating: 7/10 (30 July 2003)

I wanted to like this film but I couldn't. The direction is good, the effects are non-intrusive, it makes you sit up and watch for 2+ hours but it misses the point.
The confusion of warfare portrayed brilliantly. Others have slated the lack of characterisation in this film but this perfectly shows the ambiguity of war - the collective army being more important than the individual. The lack of well-built characters makes you feel a bit uncomfortable through the film but this is how you should be feeling.
There are some very good scenes in the film with true potency. However, in a post September 11 world, the director compromises the grim reality for a "go USA" feeling which left me feeling let down.
(Slight spoiler below)
The ending of the film list all the names of the Americans which gave their lives for their country but only casually mentioned that 1000 Somalis died. Indeed, throughout the film the Somalis are treated as subhuman like the aliens in Aliens which just keep attacking and never seem to be repelled. It almost as if the director wants you to cheer and high-five everytime a good-ol' American boy survives the onslaught of these zombies.
In truth, many Somalis were fighting under fear of the retributions to their families if they refused.
The film makes only a weak attempt to look at the justification of the West's involvement in such conflicts.
The key element of war which it fails to capture is the pointlessness (for all parties) and because of this the film is flawed.