a surprisingly somber film

Rating: Null/10 (26 April 2002)

SPOILER
Black Hawk Down is one of the most interesting films I have seen recently.
Being in the military, I try to avoid watching movies in which we kick some butt, mostly because my brothers in arms will interrupt the movie with howling and "hooahs."
Thankfully, this movie was different. In fact, throughout most of the movie, the soldiers watching it were very quiet. Sure, they laughed at the funny parts, and I think this was because we can identify with what was happening on the screen. The men in this movie were pretty much, no different from us now. And the scene in which Twombly is deafened by the 249 was humorous to us, because we have pretty much all had that happen to us.
But for a movie that was supposedly pro-american and everything, we were strangely quiet. The scene where Pilla is shot in the turret was also very quiet for us, and drew gasps from the crowd. That sort of thing could happen to any of us.
Also, a lot of people complained about character development. A lot of Americans in fact. This irritates me, because, even though the viewer never actually gets to know the characters in the depth that we did in SPR, these men are actual PEOPLE. Not only that, they are men that have sworn to protect freedom, and go where the nation wants them. So they did. So, you don't know them, SO WHAT? Does that mean that they died for nothing? Does that mean that you don't care that they got shot?
I guess it's just because I'm in the military, and these people remind me of my brothers in arms, but this movie hit close to home for a lot of us. I thought it was excellent and moving.