Exhausting, but well worth it.

Rating: 8/10 (13 March 2003)

**Warning! Mild Spoilers Ahead!**
After watching this movie, I was mentally exhausted. Take the ending battle of "Saving Private Ryan" and stretch it to two hours, and that's the intensity of "Black Hawk Down."
Following the introductory prelude, the ultra-realistic battle action was unrelenting. Character development was not stressed (although all the acting was solid), but that wasn't necessary to the structure of the movie. Story was, and it was quite good. I learned a lot about a battle about which I knew virtually nothing.
My favorite movie moment of 2001 occurs over halfway through, when American helicopters zoom across a battle zone with Gatling guns blazing, pinning down the opposition and freeing up U.S. troops. Seeing and hearing that as an American soldier had to be one of the greatest feelings of all time.
Bottom line: I find it fascinating that a story can be so good w/o much character development, but in this case, it works very well. The story basically tells itself, and Ridley Scott and company produced great war visuals. One of the top five of 2001 and in the top tier of turn-of-the-century war movies. 8.5/10