reviewed by Amanda McCrina
       

Ridley Scotts 2001 epic Black Hawk Down is one of those rare gems among recent Hollywood movies. With nonstop, pulsating action, stellar cast, and talented director it avoids becoming a potentially tedious viewing experience while its lack of female roles keep it thankfully above a clichéd Hollywood love stories such as Pearl Harbor.

The year is 1993. With political unrest in Somalia, following its invasion by Muslim troops, 127 American soldiers are sent in to remove dangerous Muslim leaders from the city of Mogadishu. The task should have taken 30 minutes. It took sixteen hours. Trapped in enemy territory with night falling, the disbanded U.S. forces attempt to regroup and plan their escape. The convoy carrying the captured Muslim radicals has left scattered strike teams in the hostile city streets, without proper equipment and medical assistance. Attempting to allay the confusion, U.S. officers back at base send in three Black Hawks to attempt the rescue of the stranded soldiers--a move which ends in catastrophe.

The film turns into a moving display of devotion to duty, earning its tagline of no man left behind. Young sergeant Danny Grimes (Ewan McGregor), commanding his very first mission, is left with life-and-death decisions to make, the weight of the disaster on his shoulders and the responsibility of leading the tattered remnants of the strike force to safety before it is destroyed in entirety. Many critics attack the movie for skimming over character development. "As there is no character development, it is difficult to care about anybody in the story," says Liz Braun of JAM! Movies, while, according to John Anderson of NEWSDAY,  "The Somalians feel like props, something to be plugged at a shooting gallery." This is true to some extent: many of the characters are left regrettably shallow while others are only briefly sketched out. However, we can clearly see some of the leading roles' characters in their actions throughout the film. Sergeant Grimes proves himself a strong leader under pressure, his officers stick to their duty admirably, and the soldiers under him demonstrate faith in his abilities. In one of the movie's more quiet moments, we have a scene in which a private explains how he has made coffee for the army his entire career...he has never been called to the action. Later in the film, the same private is given orders to join the convoy heading to Mogadishu.

It's little scenes like that, with their small glimpses of down-to-earth reality, that bring the most depth to Black Hawk Down. As with all war films from Patton and The Hunt for Red October to Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down is full of rough language: 35 f-words, 2 obscene hand gestures, about 15 mild obscenities, 10 religious profanities, and many derogatory terms for the Somalis. Because of its lack of any female roles there is no immorality whatsoever, but the violence is extremely intense and brutal. In one scene, a medic is forced to operate on a soldier without anesthetic; in another, one trooper falls to his death from a helicopter. The street fighting is exceedingly graphic, enough to give the film its R-rating. All in all, however, Black Hawk Down is a worthwhile viewing experience, if not necessarily an enjoyable one. It has just enough comedy relief to keep it from becoming disturbing, and enough sense of duty whatever the cost to keep it from becoming a sickening blood-and-guts fiasco. It is, quite possibly, one of the best recent movies--war or otherwise--to come from a steadily darkening Hollywood.