A realistic, gripping depiction of modern war!

Rating: 9/10 (14 October 2006)

Black Hawk Down definitely beats Saving Private Ryan out on the violence stakes - this film does glorify war, but it glorifies it in a way that brings you closer to the action, and takes you back to that fateful day, in which the Americans learned that not all stories had a happy ending. Though we never get to know any of the characters or care about them, we do witness the struggles they go through, and learn that, in the film's words, "nobody wants to be a hero. It sometimes turns out that way." This film has a 30 minute or so beginning where we build up plot and get the film set up for action, and after that, it's solid war the rest of the way. The fight scenes are beautifully directed, choreographed and made - Ridley Scott's film should have won more Oscars, but it wasn't fortuitous that the first Lord of the Rings came out in the same year. The film was evidently filmed on a massive budget - nothing looks cheap about it - but it shows us that even stylized battle scenes can depict war just as realistically as non-stylized ones. On top of that, the film has a simply-written yet powerful ending, and a script that captures the true feel of war. Ridley Scott deserved more from this film than he got - though it wasn't a sham either. The exact opposite, in fact.
But what made Saving Private Ryan great was its varied and interesting characters, cracking script, realistic looking battle scenes and truly believable research. Black Hawk Down doesn't deliver as much in any of these aspects (save the battles), and will never be taken as seriously as SPR. Though it will never capture Ryan's heights, Black Hawk Down will stick in my mind forever as possibly this decade's greatest war film.
Overall, if you are any self-respecting fan of Ridley Scott, this is a must-see - it shows his true talent as a director (he got an Oscar nomination for this), and also shows his bravery at tackling the times that Americans don't remember so fondly. This film is great - do not miss it if you get the chance. 9/10