Brutal, powerful, very engaging

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2015)

I was perhaps first struck by how modern this movie felt. It doesn't seem like something from 2001. It could have come out in 2015 and I wouldn't have noticed anything odd about it. It's set in 1993 of course so everything is meant to be appropriate for that time. I was also amazed at how many famous actors are in it, many of them before they became big stars.
It's funny to see complaints that the movie is shallow because it supposedly doesn't give enough back-story to the characters. In fact, I find that quite ironic because I often find family scenes in war movies to be the most melodramatic, shallow and unnecessary parts. We know they have families. We don't need to be shown. And that can actually be more powerful. The soldiers themselves might not know much about each other. Maybe they'd like to talk about it and maybe they wouldn't. Black Hawk Down starts and ends where it should. It's a brutal experience that puts us right in there with the soldiers. We are one of them and all of them. There needn't be a main character.
Black Hawk Down is an epic action film. It is relentless and never compromises its tone and style. It doesn't tell you what to think or feel. There is no preaching or tragedy or politics. It just presents what it feels is an important or interesting story. The acting, special effects, editing, sound are all top-notch. You have to sit back and wonder at how they did a lot of it. It just seems completely real. From what I've read, they did a lot of training and preparation for the film. The real people were consulted with. It makes such a difference and shows that the film-makers cared about doing it right.
Some of the scenes were quite scary and painful to watch. I was strongly emotionally affected by parts of it. And it gave a lot of context to see how much emotion the soldiers hold back. At most they might shed a tear. Not because they don't care but because they have no choice but to push on and be tough. I think that's an important sort of thing though. To share some of the inner details of a world most of us will never see but probably fear or dread. I think many people like to avoid it. So to bring it to attention is really positive. We have to have some understanding of what war is actually like. What can go wrong. Some glimpse of how it might affect the people involved. I personally find all of it terrifying and I'm glad I've never had to go through any of it myself.
This movie had me getting furious at all the Somalian people with guns. Where did they get so many weapons? Why are they shooting at soldiers who are just doing their job? They forced the soldiers to kill them. Even women and children. Why are they anywhere near such a violent area? It made me curious about the true story and I'm keen to read more about it.
So, in conclusion, Black Hawk Down is a very violent but impressively made film. Not exactly light-hearted fun but important as an intense experience that gives you a better feel for some of the things that are going on in the world. Plus it does have some nice messages about camaraderie and plenty of food for thought about war in general.