On the afternoon of October 3, 1993, 160 elite U.S. soldiers swept into a hostile district of Mogadishu as part of a U.N. peacekeeping operation. Their mission was to liberate two lieutenant prisoners from a murderous warlord controlling the area. It was all supposed to take less than an hour. It lasted until the next morning.
“Black Hawk Down” is a lean, mean war movie that will astonish you with its stark realism and exhaust you with its intensity. Directed by Ridley Scott, “Black Hawk” edges away from the Hollywood war movie cliché, forming a new genre of its own with its raw documentary feel. Prepare yourself for a fast-paced and uncommonly intense 144 minutes, almost all of it devoted exclusively to what happened when bad luck, confusion and technological limitations converged.
Based on Mark Bowden’s account of that unruly battle, this picture has a riveting sense of time and place that smells of explosives, helicopter fuel and blood. A talented cast of actors comes together to form the tight-knit group of soldiers within the film, leaving little room for individual stardom. The cast consists of veteran actors Sam Sheppard and Tom Sizemore, as well as present box-office stars Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor. All give magnificent performances in each little part, especially considering these performers don’t get to do much “acting” because the relentless action around them doesn’t permit it. “Black Hawk Down” sees its job as putting the audience in the center of combat, and it never lets up. It remains primitive and raw until the very end, impressively so.
“Black Hawk Down” is a riveting film that endures the emotional and physical hardships of war through each and every soldier, yet director Scott is able to show that each and every soldier shows signs of life and hope in a lifeless atmosphere. “Black Hawk” is not another Army recruit commercial like prior war movies including “Behind Enemy Lines,” but instead works as a great film displaying nationalism and persistent heroism at its best.
4.5 / 5 Stars
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Sam Sheppard, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Kim Coates, Hugh Dancy
Director: Ridley Scott
