Black Hawk Down

Rating: 9/10 (14 May 2010)

In October of 1993, in an effort to secure the Somali town of Mogadishu, Task Force Ranger, comprised of Delta Force soldiers and Rangers, are sent in for a mission that is supposed to last no more than half an hour. But when two Black Hawk helicopters are downed by insurgents with rocket launchers many of the members of Task Force Ranger are left stranded in the city. The ensuing battle lasts for 18 hours.
The Battle of Magadishu (also known as The Battle of the Black Sea, Black Hawk Down, and for the Somali's The Day of the Rangers) was both a disaster and a success depending on who you talk to. It was a success in that when all was said and done Task Force Ranger accomplished their main objectives. At the same time, it was a disaster because originally the mission was only supposed to take 30 minutes, but in the end lasted 18 hours and cost the lives of 19 American soldiers and somewhere in the range of 500-2000 Somali's. How do you adapt an 18 hour battle into a two and a half hour movie? Very carefully, and had the movie been placed in a less capable director's hands than Ridley Scott's (Alien, Gladiator) this movie could very well have been a disaster. Ridley Scott, though, along with first time screenwriter Ken Nolan, do their best to capture the battle in a truly authentic light, and they do an amazing job. From what I hear (I have a lot more to learn about the battle) this is possibly the most accurate depiction of a battle ever put to film. I would also argue that it's the best example of modern urban warfare put to film as well.
The performances in this film are amazing as, despite a hugely recognizable cast (something I might just be saying because many of the actors in this movie have become huge since, and weren't as big at the time) there is no vanity amongst the actors. Their lack of vanity only adds to the realism, and also builds up the feeling of brotherhood as they act out the battle in the field.
All in all, if there was going to be an argument against this film it would really only be the fact that there's not much character development. In the end, though, it's not as much about the characters as it is about the units. It's not as much about the battle as it is a reminder that there are still soldiers that carry the DNA of bravery and brotherhood that we saw in the World War II elite. And it's not so much about Somalia as it is about the war fronts we fight on throughout the world whether in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. If you haven't seen this movie yet, definitely give it a shot.
4.5/5