 "Outstanding...!" | 2010-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By GET SOME! from Sydney, Australia |
This is a fantastic inside look to the adrenalin rush and dangers in modern war. I was glued to this one. Definitely a must see if you enjoy combat/war movies. And one you will watch more than once.
T.
Sydney, Australia.
|
| |
| "Feels authentic." | 2010-02-18 |
| - Reviewed By Anton Chekhov |
With director Ridley Scott, you never can quite tell if you're going to get something modest but unsatisfactory [Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies] or epic filmmaking [Alien, Gladiator.]
Thankfully, with 'Black Hawk Down', Ridley Scott helms an ensemble cast in a modern warfare film that feels and smells authentic. It is 1993, and an elite, military extraction of a high-level priority target, Somalian warlord Mohammed Farrah, by U.S. special forces is derailed when an American helicopter is rocketed down. The extraction mission quickly turns into a search-and-rescue mission as ground and air forces coordinate their efforts to extract Mohammed Farrah as well as bring the downed crew of the helicopter to safety, all while the city of Mogadishu and its fierce militiamen seek to violently repel all American forces.
Most war films centers around core and familiar values of honor, duty, bravery, loyalty, and sacrifice. The audience expects to see these values represented and reaffirmed in the heroes and absconded by the villains. 'Black Hawk Down' is a remarkable piece of filmmaking since it captures the danger of modern warfare with such alarming imminence that we the audience immediately question the wisdom of these values. Nowhere is this tension between moral duty and survival instincts sharply juxtaposed than when the American helicopter is rocketed down and American forces continue to put themselves in harm's way to rescue the downed crew. Even though we the audience are a degree removed from the decision to rescue the downed crew, since we can evaluate all options with the luxury of time and safety, the choice to do the right thing is still hard even for us to agree with since the danger involved in rescuing comrades and brothers-in-arms comes across so authentically. This immersion to the emotional pressure and constraints of war can be credited to Ridley's incredible and artistic handling of the film and the historical events it portrays.
Most war films border on Michael Bay testosterone-and-guns slow-motion music video effect when armed conflict is not treated with a basic respect for loss of life. Ridley Scott, for his part, unflinchingly presents the carnage of modern warfare without ever diluting the human element of an individual's death. American and Somalian casualty alike, no matter how numerous it happens to occur in this film, never seems to be treated lightly or with indifference. In a world torn by war and conflict, men and women full of life and sharing a common link of humanity gun one another down almost senselessly. It is to the film's credit that the graphic violence it presents does not numb the audience to human death but rather elicits a consciousness of the true price of war.
It's always great to see an ensemble cast come together so vibrantly, and 'Black Hawk Down' continues this grand tradition when an ensemble cast clicks. Look for your favorite actors putting in pitch-perfect performances in roles that are either great or small. Tom Sizemore as the unflappable officer. Ewan McGregor as a green rookie. Jeremy Piven as a unconscious pilot. Eric Bana in a strange American accent offering stoic, veteran advice. And Josh Hartnett as a brave commanding soldier is the diamond hidden in the rough.
In conclusion, 'Black Hawk Down' is an incredible piece of filmmaking that has significant resonance in today's political climate and America's current conflict in Afghanistan. War films, when done correctly, honestly portray vulnerable human emotions in a time of bloodshed. They also attest to the spirit that noble values, such as sacrifice and loyalty, are indeed doubted in times of peril, but they nonetheless sustain individuals in times of peril. As I watched the film, I continually wondered aloud, "The Somalian militiamen would never live by the American military creed 'Leave no man behind!' They would make the pragmatic choice of leaving the downed crew in enemy hands." But I thought to myself that a country without noble values is not worth defending. |
| |
| "Great" | 2010-02-10 |
| - Reviewed By Difference Principle from Charlottesville, VA |
| This is a great movie for anybody interested in the special forces or is curious about an operation in Somalia. |
| |
 "Saving Private Ryan Battle Scenes Meets a Michael Bay Movie, the good parts 80%" | 2010-02-05 |
| - Reviewed By Formally Known as SNAFS/Untitled from nowhere |
Props to both Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer for making this movie, which picks a more modern type of warfare and creates the type of depiction of war with bravado authentically, and ferocity that Roland Emmerich or Michael Bay could only dream of making. Saving Private Ryan is the only movie that comes close, but Private Ryan in itself is quite different from Black Hawk Down anyway. There at times when Black Hawn Down seems more like an action movie, but if this is an action movie, then it might as well be ranked in the same level of humanity as Die Hard. This movie feels authentic, and unlike movies like Armageddon and ID4, never feels tepid. It's not as powerful as other war movies are, but still a ferocious and rip roaring ride about a mission that took longer than expected and more lives than it should have.
I'm going to come out right now and say that this movie kind of is lacking in character (easily the weakest part of the movie), further screwed up by some flaws in the plot. The main problem with the plot is that it gives little introduction to the many. many characters, and on top of that throws the plot that easily gets confusing because it's episodic before the battle. Furthermore, the scenes before the battle are not explained very well for people who are unfamiliar (example: Why the hell did they put tape on the roof of the car?). the viewers little The characters are likeable and based on real people, but there are so many of them, and all of them look too much alike on first glance. It's not exactly the characters fault that they are hard to keep track of, but in my opinion, it doesn't really matter much after you take some effort to understand who everybody is. Too bad the characters really don't have that much of a personality to really draw you into the fictional characters, as the converstations between everybody are really not that interesting, ad not funny. I would almost say this movie suffers from third person syndrome, but thankfully for this movie, It spend little time on these characters anyway, instead focusing on the battle itself. That's either good or bad depending on your situation, but thankfully, I find it good. And to further show it's not that big of a deal, I still felt rather moved by the ending even though I didn't quite know who was who at the end.
Since this movie is more like one big battle and takes up most of the movie, I'm glad to say that this movie's battle, which is evident from the beginning to the end, is top notch, only second to the battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan and a step above Full Metal Jacket (which were great battle scenes but there wasn't an abundance of them). They are intense, and while they aren't as well made as Saving Private Ryan (not really an insult considering how high I consider the battle scenes in that movie to be), they are depicted as exilherating, and feel authentic, a problem that prevented older war movies had when depicting combat (witness the lame sound design of Platoon), Today's Hollywood, despite tons of blandess that comes out every year, can create some amazing gun fights, explosions, and creatures, and Black Hawk Down has that virtue and takes advantage of it. Every bullet and gun noise sounds off with ferocious sound, the explosions are deep and booming, the bullets spray like ocean waves, and yadda yadda yadda. If you like your action scenes loud and energetic, you won't be disappointed. Well deserved for best sound editing at the Academy Awards (why didn't Transformers win it?).
Even when the characters and plot cause confusion and apathy, and when there's no battle raging on, Ridley Scott's direction, the cinematography, and the art direction elevates this movie on another level and pad the movie's plot and characters shortcomings. It's a good looking movie on par with the look of Saving Private Ryan, Grave of the Fireflies, and Apocalypse Now. It's kind of looks like a Michael Bay Movie, at least in the high production values that all of his movies carry (especially later movies like Transformers or Pearl Harbor). Ridley Scott has been known for his attention to detail ever since he made Alien (carrying on from Gladiator to Blade Runner and Hannibal), and he delivers tons and tons of crisp and postcard worth shots at the beginning. The blue-tinged opening sequences, the slow motion sequence of some animal, the shots of the Mogadishu, the military equipment, the authenticay of the whole thing Ridley Scott Hans Zimmer composes a score that delivers to the films bleak and credible tone, and rock and rap is there for the less serious scenes. The most memorable uses for me would have to be the use of Faith No More's Falling to Pieces and Stevie Ray Vaughn superior remake (!) of Voodoo Child.
Given the extremely boring and painful Gladiator (one of the most overrated movies of the decade) that came out a year before this, it's great to see that the master of detail crafted a movie full of beautiful shots, practically the longest battle on film, and even some poigant emotional moments, with energy, style, and some sembelance to entertainment. While this movie may seem like a blockbuster movie of sorts, that's only because this movie is extremely polished and well done. Besides, the high production values are the reason why this movie is so great anyway. With that, film makers are able to make a war movie with tons and tons of resonance and ferocious, and it's thanks to movies like this and Saving Private Ryan. I really hope that film makers in the future will make more movies in the spirit of Private Ryan and this one. If so, the war film genre has a great future ahead of itself. Highly recommended watching.
Oh, and one other thing, it's regarding the end of the movie. I give a rejoicing, Shawkshank Redemption style spread in the air for this quote at the end :"1000 Somalis died and 19 Americans lost their lives in the conflict. " Take that, Steven Spielberg!
CHARACTERS 5/10
PLOT 7/10
DIRECTING AND STYLE 18/20
THE BATTLE ITSELF18/20 |
| |
 "Blue ray review only" | 2010-01-09 |
| - Reviewed By A. P. Darnell from Texas |
| forget the story, we all seen this movie .. the Blue ray picture is fine ... the sound is fine though it is only 5.1 Dolby .. already in the cut rate bins so get it if you want to .. if you have the Superbit DVD with the excellent DTS sound track, stick with that .. dont know why it was not included .. |
| |
| "Awesome Movie" | 2009-11-08 |
| - Reviewed By G. Donnelly from Accokeek, MD |
| This will be a gift for my 16 year old son so he hastn' received it yet. He loves Black Hawk Down and has watched a zillion times. I think it will be a hit. |
| |
Expedited Available
