Factually accurate with some license for imagery

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2002)

The film is done well. I was in uniform at Fort Lewis, and got direct feedback from rangers who were in Somalia. The film captures the point of the book well, and the imagery, especially the rangers running on their own, trying to get to safety, is haunting. Anyone, whether they have worn the uniform or not, will have a visceral reaction - understanding that mixed feeling of abandonment, desperation, exhaustion, and the comraderie/brotherhood that fends off the panic that might come if these rangers were alone. Mr. Scott captures that without any words in the scene. It's a statement that war is an ugly, horrible undertaking that should be a last resort. In this case, brave men died because of political considerations. That's what soldiers do.