Black Hawk Down Movie Review

Black Hawk Down (2001)

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Written by: Mark Bowden (book), Ken Nolan (screenplay)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard, Kim Coates, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffudd, Jason Isaacs, Zeljko Ivanek, Jeremy Piven, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hardy, Orlando Bloom
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily-armed Somalis.

Verdict
Harrowing and chaotic depiction of an extraction that turns into a rescue mention with everything going wrong. It's a grueling experience as the soldiers' hope for escape continues to dwindle. This focuses on action with unrelenting waves of Somali militia. This action and number of characters makes the pacing quick. The only breaks are to reinforce hopelessness. The technical side of this movie, from the city and sets to the planes and explosions and the sheer number of people is impressive.
Watch It.

Review
I first saw this not long after it came out, but it's been a long time and I don't remember much. In war torn Somalia, only the American military can stop the civil war and bring down a warlord. This movie resorts to extreme stereotypes with nearly all Somali people depicted as militants mindlessly running into American gunfire. The soldiers are initially cowboy types, though there is some development. It's a huge cast that would be difficult to keep track of if so many of them weren't known stars then or years after the movie premiered. It does help that nearly all soldiers have their name printed on their helmets.

The Black Hawk crash site.

There's the typical military hierarchy where the general in charge commands them from the safe zone to proceed while the soldiers on the ground in the "hot zone" know better. Everyone initially regards this as an easy mission despite going into a "hot zone." The first few scenes really attempt to nail the time period with '90s music. There's a fair amount of foreshadowing with a soldier that's never gone out before and other soldiers reluctant to pack 'extra' gear.

The plot really begins when a Black Hawk helicopter is shot down. The military mantra is "No one is left behind," so the survivors and bodies must be recovered. So many characters make the action frenetic by design. We're following three different teams as they converge on the crash site along with Somali militants. The soldiers are overpowered and outnumbered. This is certainly gripping, and at times gory, but the militants seem to have an endless supply of people and kids with RPGs. It often feels like a video game with endless waves of enemies.

Josh Hartnett plays SSG Eversmann.

The movie received criticism for it's depiction of Somali people, and it's merited. There are no Somali actors or consultants. The movie avoids any difficult questions about intervention and tactics in a foreign country. At one point the U.S. asks for Pakistan and U.N. aid which is delayed because the U.S. didn't reveal to anyone they were entering a "hot zone." This movie could easily lean into probing questions about the U.S. involving itself with other country's politics, whether welcome or not. I get the movie doesn't want to delve too far into exposition and politics as the focus is an on the rails military experience, but it could have done something.

The technical side of this movie alone  is impressive. This is a huge cast with multiple city sets, crash sites, and explosions. Managing these different parts to get the movie made is a feat.

While I like the main musical theme, it's noticeable every time it plays. A good score should blend in so that you hardly notice it. The somber piano notes just don't fit with a war movie. I'm not sure this needs a score at all.

The situation just gets worse as the movie continues. It's unlikely they'll make it out and each additional minute that delays rescue could be fatal. Due to that, I was surprised at how as many soldiers survived. At points I didn't think anyone would survive.

I appreciate this doesn't delve too far in getting to know the soldiers. Often a movie will give you a bunch of backstory only to kill the character for maximum emotional manipulation. This movie mostly avoids that because this is about the experience. It's trying to give you a front row seat.