War-Exposed-

Rating: 10/10 (11 March 2002)

War has become common place in our theaters and on our television screens. It is not unusual to see photos of slain bodies and dying children on the nightly news or even the latest parody sitcom or skit. What we don't typically see is the war in full action. Occasionally yes, however the actual battles between men are not fought on the news they are fought behind the scenes where cameras don't go. Ridley Scott went there.
Black Hawk Down took what Saving Private Ryan did correctly and made it work for an entire film. Arguably the greatest 30 minutes in a war movie, SPR starts out with a bang only to fizzle for 2 hours and pick up again in the last 15 minutes. Black Hawk Down starts as a slow burn, speeds to an increasingly rapid pace, and stops 2 hours later leaving the viewer feeling confused and exhausted. Black Hawk Down takes the first 30 min of SPR and makes it a 2 hour feature film. All the while showing, cleverly without character development, the effect on the human emotions, the fear instilled in men fighting and the anxiousness felt by those watching from the outside. Scott is on top of his game as he shows the mistake the U.N. and the U.S. made in battling an unknown enemy. Bring out the Oscar! Give it a remarkable A