Black Hawk Down

“Black Hawk Down” is fast-paced, graphically in your face, and chaotic—just like how I like my war movies. When making “Pearl Harbor,” Michael Bay could have taken a tip or two from Ridley Scott’s 2001 film about the U.S. conflict in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993. Bay slaughtered the history of Pearl Harbor by focusing entirely too much on useless subplots and romantic triangles. Instead, Ridley Scott focuses on the courage and bravery of the soldiers who fought in the conflict in Mogadishu, honing in on the disorganized chaos of armed conflict. Both “Pearl Harbor” and “Black Hawk Down,” have a wide cast of characters, but instead of going into the back stories of each soldier, Scott merely made them human, so we still cared for them when they die in conflict.

Interestingly enough, Josh Hartnett is in both “Black Hawk Down” and “Pearl Harbor”, but he does a much better job here as heroic Sergeant Matt Eversmann, in charge of a squad of soldiers. Also starring prominently in this film are Ewan MacGregor as Grimes, Eric Bana as Hoot, Tom Sizemore as McKnight, William Fichtner as Sanderson, and Sam Shepherd as Lt. Garrison. Many other familiar faces can be found in smaller, less notable parts, such as Orlando Bloom as a soldier who breaks his back, Jeremy Piven as a pilot whose helicopter is shot down, and Hugh Dancy as a medic.

The story starts with an elite group of Rangers who are stationed in Mogadishu. A rebel group of Somalians led by warlord Mohamed Farah Fahdid are tearing the country apart. The Rangers are sent on a humanitarian mission to stop the violence and restore peace in the war-torn African country. Major General Garrison is the commander of a relatively simple mission of extracting two of the top lieutenants in the renegade’s forces until the mission goes horribly wrong. The soldiers are unknowingly dropped into a hornet’s nest, where the local militia fights to regain control of their city. When one Black Hawk helicopter is shot out of the sky, chaos erupts and the mission evolves into a fight to get out of the city alive. Grenades, RPG’s, and bullets fly as one by one, the elite group of Rangers find themselves fighting for their lives.

The editing and sound mixing are incredible, as bullets whiz past, explosions are set off, dirt is flying everywhere, and soldiers yell to one another for help. The camera works as if the audience is a soldier on the ground, showing the disorganized and out of control nature associated with this conflict. As with any war movie, the gore factor is always ratcheted up several notches, and “Black Hawk Down” is definitely a shining example of this. If you’re squeamish, this may not be the movie for you, as blood squirts, body parts are dismembered, and in one particularly memorable scene, the local Somali militia fire an RPG, piercing the torso of a soldier driving a humvee.

The movie remains exciting for the duration of the two hours, and the suspense never ceases to keep you on the edge of your seat. The music (by veteran film composer Hans Zimmer) does a wonderful job at keeping each scene as tense as the last, while also creating some haunting melodies that provide the emotional support needed in some scenes, particularly during sweeping aerial shots of the city, or when survivors of the mission are finally running back to base and back to safety. Josh Hartnett is featured slightly more prominently in the film because he has a crucial part in his team’s survival, but for the most part, the cast is an ensemble and acts as so. No one character stands out more than another, creating a sense that they are a team, and there is no one soldier who is more important than the other.
Overall, Ridley Scott’s direction is pitch-perfect in creating a film that is both entertaining and action-packed. In his own words, he describes this film as “anti-war, but pro-military,” because it shows the graphic horror of war, but highlighting the heroism of everyday soldiers. This is a war movie done right—focusing on the conflict and heroic acts of the characters without squandering itself by the use of inane subplots or romantic trysts. The audience leaves the theater amazed at the sheer bravery of the soldiers who were portrayed on screen and in awe of the acts they performed to preserve their lives, as well as the lives of their brothers standing next to them.

Rating: 3 ½ stars
Where to Find It: On DVD