I never thought I'd call a Jerry Bruckheimer production the best film of the year.

Rating: Null/10 (13 July 2002)

**** out of ****
To call Black Hawk Down the best film of producer Jerry Bruckheimer's career might not say much, considering he was responsible for silly action thrillers like Con Air, Gone in Sixty Seconds, and Bad Boys, but that would be short-selling this amazingly crafted war film, brilliantly helmed by Ridley Scott, a director who's on a critical and commercial streak unlike any filmmaker since Steven Spielberg.
The opening scenes, played over the haunting sight of dead bodies, recounts the events that led up to the disaster in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. In 1993, warlord Mohamed Aidid is more concerned with keeping power than feeding his starving people, claiming the food brought in by the U.N. as his property. Once Aidid starts attacking American military personnel, U.S. American rangers and the Delta Force are sent in to deal with the situation, namely by capturing two of Aidid's top aides.
The mission was estimated to last only an hour, but everything goes horribly wrong when a ranger misses his jump and is wounded. A black hawk is then shot down, and eventually, the rangers and Delta Force are stuck in enemy territory, engaging in a fierce firefight with thousands of Somali militia that would last 17 hours and claim over a thousand lives.
Black Hawk Down is an interesting war film in that it never pushes and force feeds us any moralization or blatant, patriotic flag-waving. It's not necessarily concerned with giving us the political background, only the chaotic warfare, because let's face it, these soldiers didn't give a damn about politics once the fighting began. All that mattered at that point was survival and keeping the men next to you alive.
There have been plenty of complaints about this film's political stance, that being that it's pro-American all the way, but I can't entirely agree. One of the film's major strengths is the unbiased, neutral manner in which
it views the situation (something that was also accomplished by Steven Soderbergh's Traffic). After all, the film also shows how the plight affects Somali civilians. True, the militia is almost a faceless mob, but to the soldiers, that's exactly what it was. Another strenght is that Ridley Scott never tries to tell us how we should think or feel about United States' foreign involvement. He simply presents the facts at hand, and lets us resolve everything else with our own opinions and deductions. To some, that will seem like lazy filmmaking, but I find much to appreciate in a film that's open-minded and willing to respect its audience's intelligence. True, whatever opinion you held about America's involvement in foreign nations may not change, but it says a lot that Scott's film makes you think about it.
But for now (meaning the duration of the film's running time), forget about politics. Where Black Hawk Down excels (and magnificently so) is in the battle scenes, and Scott choreographs some of the best action sequences I've ever seen. For nearly ninety minutes, we're bombarded with over a dozen firefights, all of which display a gripping intensity that rivals Saving Private Ryan. The fear of being outnumbered, outgunned, and being killed is presented in a harrowing, all-too-believable fashion that makes this film an effective emotional powerhouse. Despite frequently going back and forth between several groups fighting in the city, it's a credit to Scott's direction and Pietro Scalia's editing (which received an Oscar, by the way) that the battle scenes remain intelligible and clear, even if it's confusing and hectic for the soldiers. Scott's aim to show the hell a soldier experiences in combat leaves nothing to the imagination, so be prepared for graphic, realistic violence.
Another critical backlash against the film is the so-called lack of character development, with many critics and viewers pointing to We Were Soldiers as a better film overall because of its rich characterizations. I also disagree on this matter, since I found Soldiers' characterizations often corny and unbelievable. If anything, Black Hawk Down never loses sight of the characters. It may be a bit unusual for some viewers to see that Scott wasn't striving for a star-driven vehicle, but a team effort, because it was as a team that these rangers and Delta Force fought for their lives. Even then, there is attention paid to several specific individuals.
Coming in top-billed is Josh Hartnett as Sgt. Matt Eversmann, an idealistic, young soldier who's first taste of combat leaves him reeled and conflicted. Hartnett has never been a great, or even especially good, actor, but he's fine here. Tom Sizemore is excellent as Danny Mcknight, the colonel heading the convoy as they make their way through the streets of Mogadishu. Ewan Mcgregor brings some humor to the role of Grimes, a coffee-maker who's suddenly been plopped into combat. He's shaky at first, but never loses his confidence. As good as those performers are, for me, the best performance of the film belonged to William Fichtner. Fichtner, always a solid character actor, is simply superb as the take-charge, courageous Sgt. Jeff Sanderson. With each tense situation, he keeps his cool and strategizes he and his men's way through each firefight. If I were in battle, this is the kind of soldier I'd want fighting beside me. The film also plays a developing friendship between Sanderson and Grimes, and Fichtner and Mcgregor have good, palpable chemistry together.
The rest of the cast is good, with Jason Isaacs as a strict, but well-meaning captain. Ewen Bremner plays Nelson, one of two soldiers who gets left behind by the convoy. His barely contained panic is so effectively conveyed, you almost feel like you're right there with him. Eric Bana is good as the Delta Force soldier trying to retrieve his comrades, and Ron Eldard is fine as pilot Michael Durant.

There is much technical merit to be lauded, with Slawomir Idziak's atmospheric cinematography conveying the haunting, tragic mood. Hans Zimmer's score is among his better work to date, even if parts of it feel a little too derivative of his own work in Gladiator.
By the end of this 144-minute experience, it's unlikely you'll ever view modern warfare the same again. This is a clear display of the fact that the U.S. is not a perfect fighting force (though they certainly, as Roger Ebert put it, "gave better than they got"), but even more importantly, this is a film that delves in important issues such as foreign involvement, fighting for your mates, and more importantly, the horrors and reality of combat, without ever insulting the audience's intelligence.