Black Hawk Down - a film review

Black Hawk Down may not be the best American film but it is certainly very important one. Unfortunately, many people will avoid seeing this film for many reasons (generally the movie is very blood-thirsty and violent). Adapted from Mark Bowden's best book of the same name, Black Hawk Down tells of the fateful military operation in the capital city of Somalia – Mogadishu in October 1993 that resulted in the death of 18 American soldiers. At the beginning it intended to be a normal Special Forces operation to kill Mohammed Farrah Aidid – local dictator, turned out to be a disastrous episode for the U.S. military.

Director Ridley Scott's documentary approach to shooting the film lands the viewer directly in the middle of the action. The violence is relentless and for 90 minutes the audience has no place to hide. It would be nearly impossible for those who choose to see Black Hawk Down to leave the theatre without having a great appreciation and empathy for the young men who died for U.S. security interests (whether they agree or disagree with the idea).

The film does not pretend that these soldiers were without flaws. It is made clear that seemingly minor mistakes by several of the soldiers could have, and in some cases did, lead to terrible consequences. This makes these soldiers and all that happened more real. The film's lead character, played by Josh Hartnett, says: "Nobody asks to be a hero. It just sometimes turns out that way." Everybody should see this film.