FILM REVIEW: BLACK HAWK DOWN

FILM REVIEW: BLACK HAWK DOWN

A “Black Hawk” is a very advanced, expensive and deadly military helicopter and the title of the movie explains what the “goal” of the plot was. Once the one hundred elite U.S. soldiers dropped into Somalia they were almost instantly fired upon. A rocket was actually shot at one of the black hawks while a soldier was preparing to descend to its target but to dodge the missile the helicopter had to jar itself to the left which caused the soldier to plummet to the ground. The movie was very graphic and the language was pretty harsh but then again the material being covered was very harsh itself. When men (and women) began opening fire on the U.S. soldiers it explained everything. Many soldiers were hurt in this battle, and a total of 19 U.S. soldiers were killed.

When the fighting began things looked good for the U.S. They did not have tactical advantage, and they did not have the advantage of having the location they were prepared for even though preparation was intense. They did have the advantage of having a better more advanced, yet smaller artillery and combat training. “Leave no U.S. soldier behind!” said the general, which helps to better explain the title. The soldiers that were alive had to get to the helicopters that had crashed so they could be seen and evacuated. Through radio contact it would be very difficult to let the rescue team let them know where they were because they couldn’t explain where they were due to the fact the aria was new to them. Plus, at the crash sites many Somaliland rebels were looting and ready to fight which only made things more difficult. Rebel ground forces were not the soldier’s only problem, the biggest threat they had were the snipers on the roof tops that were taking out ground soldiers and making it near impossible for helicopters to land for evacuation.

All in all, I thought this was a very good movie. It may have been a bit too long, and a little too gory to my taste, but it brings a much sharper picture of what war is about, and how it works. Actors Josh Hartnett and Eric Bana did a great job of making the movie seem very realistic, and helped to personalize the soldiers so they weren’t just machines.