A world record attempt at used squibs, blanks, explosions and testosterone.

Rating: 4/10 (5 October 2014)

There is no doubt about the level of realism exhibited in Black Hawk Down. The explosions look more like real explosions compared to the fuel explosions we're used to, the fog of war is dense throughout, and the steep difference in skill between trained soldiers and angry men with automatic weapons is clearly visible. I was reminded of a recent Vice documentary about the Malian Army's fight against their local rebels where in the end the French army had to come and clear the village like a deus ex machina when the local force couldn't.
Well, realism is expected when based-on-real-life-events meets Ridley Scott. And realism, to an extent, is good. But here it seems to highlight the testosterone-fueled romanticism we are fed with in between all the shooting and mayhem, which just doesn't sit. In a more drama- like war film it wouldn't bother me that much, but when the tone of the movie is the same as in a military recruitment video, it sticks out like a sore thumb.
The grittiness of a shootout, with dust and mud getting everywhere, the numbing stress, the mix of utter fear and cold determinism, those all come across here. But the drama part, the content this movie advertises itself with, is a bit cheesy to my tastes and exposed with the well-done fight sequences. Soldiers under fire are not in shambles, I should know, but neither are they spitting out instantly quotable lines or delivering moving monologues at every opportunity.