They felt rather helpless…soldiers living in Africa, working to help the Somali people. They watched as aid workers brought food to the starving people only to watch it stolen by Aidid's henchmen. Aidid believed the way to keep people in line was to control them. Hence the reason he would take the food meant for the people. Unfortunately, the troops were helpless to stop him as they had orders to not engage unless fired upon first.
However, that all changed on that fateful morning in October. The Unified troops had intel telling them the location of two of Warlord Aidid's top advisors. With help, they made the move to capture the two men but found themselves under attack as they executed the extractions. Suddenly one of the black hawk helicopters was shot down and the mission changed from capture to rescue. Outnumbered and literally fighting for their lives, the troops must find a way to collect their wounded and dead and make their way to a safe part of the city before getting killed.
Director Ridley Scott does some great work here and the film has his obvious touches stamped all over it. His camera work has the audience right in the middle of the action and he doesn't shy away from the more unpleasant aspects of war. He also assembles an incredible cast including Josh Hartnett (The Black Dahlia), Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge!), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan), Eric Bana (Troy), William Fichtner (Armageddon), Sam Shepard (The Right Stuff), Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Kim Coates (Sons of Anarchy) and Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy). While all do a terrific job, it is Bana who is the stand out that received critical praise.
The 4K Disc is presented in 2160p high definition video quality and the transfer here is well done. The picture is sharp and the details are clear. The Dolby Atmos audio really enhances the viewer's experience with bombs and gunfire exploding from all around. The extras include: Both Theatrical and Extended Versions of the Film, High Dynamic Range, Audio Commentary by Director/Producer Ridley Scott & Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Audio Commentary by Author Mark Bowden and Screenwriter Ken Nolan, Audio Commentary by Task Force Ranger Veterans, "The Essence of Combat: Making Black Hawk Down" Documentary, The History Channel® Presents: "The True Story of Black Hawk Down", PBS Presents: "Frontline: Ambush in Mogadishu", 8 Deleted & Alternate Scenes with Optional Commentary, "Designing Mogadishu" Featurette, Production Design Archive, Storyboards with Optional Commentary, Ridleygrams with Optional Commentary, Target Building Insertion: Multi-Angle Sequence with Optional Commentary, Q&A Forums: BAFTA. Motion Picture Editor's Guild & American Cinematheque, Jerry Bruckheimer's BHD Photo Album, Title Design Explorations with Optional Commentary, "Gortoz A Ran – J'Attends" Music Video performed by Denez Prigent & Lisa Gerrard. Photo Galleries, and Theatrical Poster Concepts.
As war movies go this one is detailed and looks fairly authentic. Considering it was based on a real event though, there has been some criticism regarding the nature of the troop's involvement and the portrayal of said events. Some don't believe the movie accurately depicts what happens or why Troops were in Somalia, to begin with. Regardless of your personal political views, Black Hawk Down is one heck of a war movie that leaves its audience wound up and tense after watching some incredible battle scenes.
Grade: B
