As a look at men in modern battle this is very good. As a depiction of the actual event its fair

Rating: 6/10 (25 July 2008)

Prompted by listening to the book on CD going to and from work I finally sat down and watched Ridley Scott's film of the day everything went wrong in Mogadishu Somalia.
The plan was to go in, secure a building where some of a wanted warlord's men were meeting and then get out. From the minute the soldiers started to lad things went wrong when one soldier falls from a helicopter. Complicating matters even more is the fact that the Somali's know how to take out the helicopters and soon one of the Blackhawks goes down. This is followed by a second helicopter. With men and machines scattered all over the city it becomes a desperate race to get the soldiers out before they are cut to ribbons by what seems like every person in the city.
I'm of mixed emotions about the film. Certainly as a representation of urban guerrilla war this is a kick in the pants. You are there in the thick of chaos as choppers go down and everyman is fighting desperately for cover. As a war film the film is amazing and its frightening since where do you hide when everyone it seems is out to get you? The problem for me is that the film is often not very clear. The battle is not in context of history. Granted that this is not always needed or desired, and I understand the "why" of it all isn't the point of the film, but without it the battle just seems to be a bunch of guys going in to a place they don't belong and getting in over their head. While that is certainly part of the story its also not entirely true. I think the problem is that the opening bits of the film which gives the film its place and time while explaining what things are like in Somalia promises more background then we get and perhaps it would have been a better film if we had just skipped all of that and just went into battle.
We also get lost as to who is who. Even with the modification of names on helmets I found it tough to tell who was who and which story thread I was following. Yes the casting of Eric Bana (who is excellent and actually gives a real performance), Josh Harnett, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor and a few others help to make things easier to follow but for the most part much of the film was people in uniform shooting at people out of uniform.
Okay yes, I had just heard the book which neatly lays everything out, but at the same time knowing what I know, I was still confused (and not because what I knew conflicted by what I saw).
To be honest once I divorced the film from any sort of depiction of actual events and took it to be just a story of men under fire I quite enjoyed it. Is it the be all and end all? No. its a good story told in an action packed manner.
Worth a shot Personally I'd like to see another version of the story which manages to tell the larger story as well since there are too many stories that weren't covered or left hanging..