Starring Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana, William Fichtner, Ewen Bremner, Sam Shepard, Steven Ford, Gabriel Casseus, Kim Coates, Hugh Dancy, Ron Eldard, Jason Isaacs, Jeremy Piven, Thomas Guiry, Zeljko Ivanek, Orlando Bloom. Directed by Ridley Scott. A group of elite U.S. soldiers are sent into Mogadishu, Somalia in October 1993 as part of a U.N. peacekeeping operation. The troops grow restless, worried that they will be brought home before the Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's hold over the city is broken, and that the civil war and famine ravaging the country both continue. General Garrison (Shepard) undertakes a covert mission: to abduct two top lieutenants of Aidid. The U.S. troops come to Somalia with good intentions, hoping to save lives, but become increasingly mired in the feudal politics of Somalia in which clans are pitted against one another. The carefully planned mission takes unexpected turns, resulting in the U.S. military's biggest firefight since Vietnam. When the mission commences, it appears every man, woman and child in Mogadishu takes up arms against the Americans, turning the city into a deadly combat zone. During the combat, two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down over the city and the mission changes into a race against time to rescue the surviving flight crews and the soldiers on the ground. For 18 hours, troops remain trapped and wounded in the most hostile district of Mogadishu until a rescue convoy can be mounted to retrieve them. Outnumbered and surrounded, tensions flare, comrades are killed. By the end of the fighting, 19 American soldiers are killed as well as over 1000 Somalis. The film starts off calmly and after about a half hour, the mission begins and all hell breaks loose with almost non-stop intense action. It is an engrossing look at soldiers caught in mayhem and their struggle to save themselves and their fellow soliders. Some have suggested the film is basically the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan for over two hours. It is not. Saving Private Ryan emphasized realism. It excelled at showing the fear of the common soldier, the chaos and senseless loss of life and limb on the beach, and the resolve to get as many soldiers alive to the cliff as possible. War was not enobling or an opportunity for glory. The enemy were not the bad guys, just men as scared as they were trying to stay alive and defend themselves and those around them. In Black Hawk Down, there are plenty of slow-motion action shots, big explosions and chances to cheer for the American good guys as they mow down a few more Somalis. It is at heart a shoot-'em-up, albeit a very well made one. One of the best features of the film is the regular overhead shots of the city as we see both U.S. soldiers and Somalis moving through the streets and how the top brass overhead tries to assist and co-ordinate the U.S. offensive. Director Scott does a very good job of keeping the tension and suspense up, letting up occasionally but quickly resuming to keep things moving. The film concentrates on action and plot - we are given very little chance to see the character of the men who fight and die for their country. One of the veteran soldiers talks about his friends back home wondering why he does it - why he voluntarily joins the army to fight and risk death and injury. He suggests "it's all about" fighting for the guy next to you in your unit. But, immediately after that he tells another soldier not to go back out with him, he'd rather fight alone. And it comes from the same guy who leaves his convoy during the mission to go fight on his own (although a couple of soldiers follow him). This kind of contradiction pervades much of the film. The film suggests war is hell, but that it is a character building exercise where soldiers long to show they have the right stuff, can show their bravery and die nobly. It shows the risk of U.S. forces messing in an area where they are not wanted and do not understand, but it implies the U.S. motives are noble so their attempt to kidnap the two high-ranking Somalis is entirely justified. The Somalis are often shown as savages, and die at an amazing rate. The story is told entirely from the point of view of the Americans - only once do we get to hear something from the point-of-view of a Somali. The film includes solid performances throughout from a long list of good actors, including Trainspotting Scotsmen Bremner and McGregor sporting pretty good American accents. Standing out is Sam Shepard's weary but decisive "nobody gets left behind" General Garrison, Josh Hartnett's idealistic and patriotic sergeant and Jason Isaacs by-the-book Colonel. But there is little chance for the actor's to impress as their chief purpose is to advance the action. Black Hawk Down is a exciting, well-constructed film that keeps the viewer's interest throughout. But it also serves as "why we fight" style propaganda glorifying the United States and its military, and the lack of introspection about war, motives and this particular mission prevents a good film from being great. If you would like to respond, please click the E-Mail Press Here To Go To The Review List Page