If it’s a history lesson you’re looking for you, won’t find it in Black Hawk Down. The brief crawl at the beginning of this movie is a poor, one-sided attempt to show the audience the events leading up to October 3, 1993.
Black Hawk Down is nothing more than an arrogant portrayal of a battle that claimed the lives of 18 American soldiers and over 1000 Somalis. Following the downing of an American war helicopter, Black Hawk, what was intended to be a quick capture of Mohammad Farrah Adid’s top lieutenants turned into more than 24 hours of bloodshed in the streets of Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu.
To his credit, director Ridley Scott has seemingly portrayed a realistic war. For more than two hours, the viewer is bombarded with the graphic and disturbing images of battle.
Still, only a fanatic warmonger could take pleasure from such scenes of brutality. Once the bullets start flying, the unrecognizable bloody bodies of soldiers make any character development impossible, and the lack of plot makes this movie unbearable and downright boring. Even the attempts at comic relief in the midst of the battle are absolutely ridiculous.
In Black Hawk Down, the almighty American army once again comes to the rescue of a population laden with oppression and civil unrest. Go figure…a timely piece of American war propaganda. Although the decision was made in early December not to make direct references to Sept. 11 in the closing crawl, the connection between Mogadishu and current events is implied. Viewing Black Hawk Down during a time of actual conflict makes this a powerful film, but its American bias is unfortunate. The culmination of American arrogance is evident in the end when Pakistani waiters serve water on trays to American soldiers.
All in all, this film is not intended for the individual who believes in the equality of all lives, or who understands foreign politics and America’s own role in contributing to civil unrest in parts of the world where it subsequently sends in soldiers for peacekeeping missions. This individual recognizes the absurdity of a movie like Black Hawk Down.
