Black Hawk Down

P.S.—I took my 17-yr-old son to see this movie for a couple of reasons. For one, he’d long been considering a military career, but has recently been giving that some thought. Also, I had a friend from college who was there, and my son had heard the tale of his adventures from me and from the seargent. I wanted him to get a sense on his own of what it had been like for my buddy. This film put the final nail in the coffin of his soldierly ambitions, thank God.

Anyone who is ever in the position to contribute to causing our military to go into harm’s way SHOULD be required to see this movie before the decision is made. “Black Hawk Down” depicts war in a way which leaves no doubt as to its carnage and brutality.

As a Christian, I was relieved to find that other than a “cheesecake” shot of a girl in a swimsuit, the usual sexual banter of many war films was kept to a minimum in this movie. There is a large amount of swearing, but it did not seem out of place.

If you cannot stand to see blood and gore (not Al, the other kind) do not see this movie. If you want to see the good, the bad and the ugliness of war you need to see this movie.

There was a tremendous amount of honor, as men looking out for one another and doing their jobs. Great respect for the dead and no one was going home without rescuing every last man, dead or alive. The f-word was not used to the point where it ruined the movie. No sex, or insinuations that I remember. The movie does leave you feeling down about all the losses and the “hell on Earth”…

Don’t take small children, but I recommend it for teens and up. Keep in mind that 99% of the dialogue in this movie is accurate (expletives included). I gave it the excellent moral rating because telling this story is insuring that it won’t happen again. The survivors were the technical advisors. The attention to detail is amazing.

The courage of the soldiers is not shown in victory, but to fight through impossible odds in ambush, with help not able to get through the enemy’s stronghold. Their determination to “leave no man behind” is their goal. In that, we see their courage, overcoming fear, anxiety, and anger. To say the filmmaker captures the emotional rollercoaster of emotions is putting it mildly. Like “…Private Ryan,” this puts you in the soldiers’ perspective. Unlike in “…Private Ryan,” the effect goes for 2 hours, not 20 minutes.

It has a documentary feel to it, showing the action from all angles, adding to a paranoid feeling of not knowing where the next attack will come from, or when. Also, some of the scenes in the battle are bloody, as in the first few minutes of “Saving Private Ryan,” so be prepared when you see this movie. The acting in this ensemble is very good. Unlike in “…Private Ryan” and “Pearl Harbor,” no one character has enough screen time to be the “star” of the movie, but each actor does a lot with a little. I was especially impressed with Josh Hartnett, who shows much more poise and subtlety in his acting than he was able to in “Pearl Harbor.”

Eric Bana showed quite a bit of charisma, as the Ranger rescue specialist, who understood more than anyone else what matters in “the trenches” (it’s all about the guy next to you. that’s all). Sam Shepard and Tom Sizemore gave great performances, as usual. The rest of the cast, too many to mention here, gave performances that made you believe that they were soldiers going into hostile territory.

While there was some profanity, as most war movies have these days, it seems, it wasn’t as noticeable as in Private Ryan. The political waters of the times and the environment, and the fact that this was real (the soldiers that died are named in the movie’s credits at the end) make this a stronger war movie than most. Whether you were aware of this conflict or not, you can’t help but come out of the movie with an even greater sense of appreciation for our soldiers in battle.