Black Hawk Down

Year:	2001
Running Time:	143 minutes
Aspect Ratio:	2.39:1 (Scope)
Certificate:	– Not suitable for under 15s
Subtitles:	The level of subtitling in this film is unknown to WSC
Directed by	Unknown
Starring:	Unknown

Review: Set in Somalia in 1993, Black Hawk Down is based on the true story of a misjudged mission to capture senior figures in the militia of a Somali warlord. All appears to be going well until a US helicopter, the Black Hawk from the title, is shot down. This leads to US soldiers racing through the city of Mogadishu, trying to reach the helicopter before militia hostile to the American presence kill the crew.

A bloody battle ensues as the remaining air units are left with a choice of trying to protect the fallen craft, evacuating the wounded or returning to base to carry out repairs. Armoured ground units carrying prisoners try to leave the city, but are under constant attack, receiving heavy losses. Many are left unprotected and have to fight their way across the city, incurring horrific injuries under constant attack.

The filming leaves nothing to the imagination and results in some truly grotesque scenes of shredded limbs and an abortive attempt at field surgery. In this respect Black Hawk Down is an awesome piece of cinema: hard, uncompromising and compelling.

Where the film lets itself down is in not exploring the issues behind the war and the legitimacy of foreign involvement in domestic conflicts. There are plenty of cute one-liners such as "it's all about the man standing next to you", but no-one stops to consider what would happen if that man wasn't there. Okay, so portraying human tragedy is far more powerful than exploring politics, but without any consideration of the underlying causes there's a danger that all you're left with is a spectacular blood-bath.

Black Hawk Down teeters on the brink, but does not fall into that trap. There are plenty of strong individual performances and it's acknowledged that, in the end, there are no winners. It's an impressively powerful and poignant film, packed with naively patriotic heroes.

Stuart Jarvis