No sentimentality here.....

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2005)

Bravery without sentimentality, thats the way these soldiers perform their military duty. The filmmakers have rightly tried to produce their film to reflect this fact.
This film has become more significant in recent years. The U.S.A. has learned the lesson of Vietnam regarding war fighting (2003 Iraq war victory) but has not learned the lesson of Mogadishu (lack of advance planning for the Iraq police action since 2003).
Remarkable special effects, such as all those crowds running at night, helicopter crashes, etc. Good acting by the cast members. Well-made film in all respects.
Read the book either before or after viewing the movie. You can check out a copy free at most local libraries. It will enhance your understanding of the overall military operation, which does appear a bit too "condensed" in the movie. It will also detail the drawbacks of the amazing real-time view from above that the commanders actually had during the battle. The book humanizes the unfortunate citizens of Mogadishu (the film does a very poor job of this, but just doesn't have time).
Some other movies are pretty realistic, but "Black Hawk Down" is the definition of stark reality.