As close as you want to get to this type of action

Rating: Null/10 (9 May 2002)

"Black Hawk Down" is director Ridley Scott at his razor-sharpest with a harrowing, relentlessly tense account of the semi-failed raid on Mogadishu, Somalia, in October 1993. No jingoism here, and no false notes; no holding back, either, as we see dismemberment, intestines, and meatball field surgery without morphine. Gripping and convincing, and an indictment of civilian micromanagement of the battlefield (for political reasons, the American troops are denied the protection of tanks and C-130 gunships), and therefore an acknowledgement of the sort of results you can expect with a draft-dodger in the White House. As we continue the war against terrorism, let's hope the lessons learned in Mogadishu aren't forgotten.