Disappointing. Nothing more than a two and a half hour long demonstration of blood and explosions special effects.

Rating: 4/10 (26 January 2002)

You've probably read other reviews of Black Hawk Down that glorify it as being "The best movie of the year" or "One of the greatest war movies of all time". This simply is not true. The special effects, and there are plenty of them, are very well done. Unfortunately Black Hawk Down is an example of a film that was made simply because some guys in Hollywood had a bunch of cool toys to play with; the other aspects of the film definitely were not a priority. My pet fish could have written a more interesting and complex plot. The characters were grossly undeveloped. The acting wasn't bad, but not impressive either. I walked into the theater wanting to see a film that had some good action and a good story. I got second and third helpings of the former, but very little of the latter.
If you're a history buff or veteran who wants to see how well Hollywood can recreate military combat, go see this movie. If you're a special effects junkie who wants to see a bunch of blood and explosions, go see this movie. But if you want to be entertained by a good movie, spend your time and money elsewhere. Black Hawk Down is not the movie for you.