1/29/2002
Black Hawk Down stars Josh Hartnett as Staff Sergeant Matt Eversmann, Ewan McGregor as Company Clerk John Grimes, Tom Sizemore as Lt. Colonel Danny McKnight, Eric Bana as Sergeant 1st Class Norm "Hoot" Hooten, William Fichtner as Master Sergeant Paul Howe, Ewen Bremner as Specialist Shawn Nelson, Sam Shepard as Major General William Garrison, Gabriel Casseus as Specialist Mike Kurth, Kim Coates as Private Wex, Hugh Dancy as Sergeant 1st Class Kurt Schmid, Ron Eldard as Chief Warrant Officer Mike Durant, Tom Guiry as Staff Sergeant Ed Yurek, Charlie Hofheimer as Corporal Jamie Smith, Danny Hoch as Sergeant Dominic Pilla.
Black Hawk Down is a film based on the U.S military expedition to Somalia on October 3, 1993. The military objective that is chronicled, is the capture of two of Mohamed Farrah Aidid's lieutenants. Army Rangers and Delta force were the elite teams inserted into Mogadishu. The entire capture was to take no more than 30 minutes. In what is known as a cluster fuck in military parlance, the operation lasted more than 24 hours. Each unplanned for event then triggered another unplanned for event. Until 19 Americans were dead along with thousands of Somalis.
The element that seems to be missing is the background or analysis, of the events to explain why the plan failed so miserably. As a guy, war film this is a good one. It is not a date flic.
Black Hawk Down is a surprising film in that there is no romance, just a tension filled, never ending gunfire, war picture. The film is well made and the acting is good. The film is not for the squeamish. Very graphic war wounds to the human body are displayed.
I give it 3 out of 5 wrist watches: 