One of Scott's best films, but not quite on my top 10 list for 2001

Rating: 9/10 (21 January 2002)

Ridley Scott seems to have a knack for high intensity in movie-making (Gladiator, Blade Runner, Hannibal and Thelma and Louise among others come to mind) and Black Hawk Down, a war picture set in Somalia, is another prime example of his knack. Black Hawk Down is a war movie that does something I haven't seen much (or dare I say haven't seen at all) which is not going directly into the battle scenes, but instead keeping the audience in check with how the soldiers are reacting and feeling and never diverging much from the action. It is a daring move by Scott.
In "Down", a somewhat large group of soldiers are sent to the heart (or mindless brain) of Somalia to capture 2 lieutenants in regard to a civil war going on in the country that has taken 300,000 lives ("it's not war, it's genocide" comments the major general played by Sam Shepard). At first notice it seems like they can get in and out of the mission in a few hours...but then everything goes wrong. The Somalians start a near unstoppable attack on the U.S. soldiers, shooting as many as they can and sneaking out from roofs and sides like cockroaches. It becomes a chaotic day and night for the soldiers as they try to stay alive while waiting for extra troops to come in to rescue them that could take time to get there.
Outside of the couple of flaws in the film (at the end it tells that 18 U.S. soldiers died in the attack but if you don't keep exact track it will seem more/the cinematography is alright however the editing cuts too much in the action and tension), Black Hawk Down is quite the war picture, one that will be memorable in years to come as the most accurate depiction of what went on with us in Somalia in 1993. Kudos to Scott and the cast; Ewan McGregor gets the highest praise from me if only for giving an amazing American accent. A-