In 1993 the US sent elements of their Delta
force and an elite Ranger Battalion into Mogadishu,
Somalia, to facilitate & protect deliveries
of aid to the populace. Presumably the Rangers
experience of protecting "pic a nic" baskets
from cartoon bears was felt sufficient preparation,
by the US Dept of Defense, for a mission of
this nature. Unfortunately they were wrong.....................
Overall there is little to distinguish the concept
and situation of this film from the Hamburger
Hill genre where motivated and comradely US
squaddies are let down by hesitant, remote and
unprepared leadership. For Dinks and Gooks read
Skinnies and Sammies, for "The Boonies" read
"The Mog". Black Hawk Down, aside from the first
half hour of scene setting, is an orgy of blood,
snot, gore, flying lead and confusion. However
it is ten thousand times better than the Vietnam
based pap that was spawned in the early 90's.
Shortly after being dropped into Mogadishu to
capture the lieutenants of local warlord General
Aidid, with no consideration having been given
to the prospect of something going wrong, the
ground troops are left surrounded by hostile
militia with nothing other than their mates,
and a few helicopter gunships to get them out
again.
The initial mission is close to being accomplished
when a Black Hawk helicopter is crippled by
a Rocket Propelled Grenade and crashes into
the Bakara Market at the heart of Aidid territory.
The strangely detached Officers, commanding
the mission from a helicopter above the market,
watch events unfold on video as they have no
choice but to send their troops on foot through
hostile enemy forces in an attempt to rescue
any survivors. In the meantime a HumVee convoy
having secured the prisoners is directed round
in circles as the Somalis block off their escape
with roadblocks and hastily convened ambushes.
To compound their problems a second Black Hawk
is lost. The Officers commanding lose the initiative
and their consequent lack of control or ideas
leads the ground troops into their biggest fire-fight
since Vietnam. Twenty-two hours later the ground
is littered with 18 US dead and an estimated
500+ Somalis have also shuffled off this mortal
coil.
Told largely from the perspective of those that
were getting shot up, Black Hawk Down is a grim
story that ably demonstrates the consequences
of a fight where only one side cares whether
it lives or dies. The direction pulls no punches
and no-one is spared from the gore, grime and
confusion as the Rangers fight to secure a defensive
perimeter and wait until they can be extracted.
The Rangers code dictates that "No-one gets
left behind", and it is their loyalty to each
other that culminates in an adhoc but enthusiastic
and ultimately successful rescue mission being
launched.
The frightening lack of regard for life that
the human wave assaults by the Somalis display
stopped me from writing this off as just another
war film. This is not a Hollywood gloss-over
like the Audie Murphy biopic "To Hell and Back",
it is a true story and pretty faithful to the
book. I'd defy anyone to sit back and simply
enjoy the carnage without any thought for the
poor bastards that were really there.
Overall Rating = "Fucking A". But read the book
first.
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| From: |
MadPole | Subject: | 2002-11-13 13:52:19 |
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| From: |
MadPole | Subject: | 2002-11-13 13:52:22 |
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| From: |
ryan aka lil rat | Subject: | 2006-02-09 11:10:04 |
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