Scott described the film as ‘anti-war, but pro-military’ and that is certainly true. There’s no single star-lead protagonist, but a team of individual heroes. There’s no sentimental bullshit; showing the families back home or close-ups of American flags fluttering in the wind. Instead Scott bravely removes these genre clichés and replaces them with the gritty reality of war.

Typically of Scott there’s an incredible attention to detail, with even something as small as a hot shell casing burning a soldier’s skin reflecting the terrors of war. The film is, in every aspect, beautiful in its creation. From the diversified camera angles of Sławomir Idziak’s breathtaking cinematography and the exemplary slow-motion sequences of Pietro Scalia’s edit to the sound team’s elaborate design and Hans Zimmer’s stunning score, Black Hawk Down is a gloriously immersive piece of cinema, a joy to watch and ultimately a masterpiece of its genre.

The actors all perform well and the constant action sequences are all well shot and directed, but we aren't familiarized with any of the characters in a way to create any sort of familiarity or emotional attachment. This lack of connection also causes any if not all antiwar themes to not make its way, and it instead seems more like a gung-ho American war film. Many of my good friends have cited this as one of their favorite movies and I can see why when looking at this movie and looking at my friends, but I can honestly say it is not the war film for me. High octane action sequences, no matter how good, don't work in my mind when the protagonist of the situation is primarily unfamiliar to me, and that seems to be the case during the entire movie.

Esta película es básicamente propaganda imperialista que glorifica el militarismo y retrata a los negritos del África tropical como carnaza mala.
Pero dentro de la propaganda imperialista que glorifica el militarismo y retrata a los negritos del África tropical como carnaza mala, es de las mejores.

Me flipa.

A truly amazing movie. Everything is captured perfectly. The look and sound of it is fantastic for such a terrible situation. Literally everyone you can think of is in this film and every last one of them does a phenomenal job. A great emotional movie.

It's too action oriented for me, and while it does capture a few interesting themes about war, such as it's uncontrollable and unpredictable nature, and the bonds between soldiers along with some talk about the reason for war, those themes are not deeply explored and most of the movie just focuses on the massive firefight, which is really well executed and manages to keep you well informed on what happens on many different fronts which is quite a feat.

This is one of the craziest castings in history. It's like all of Hollywood wanted to go to war pre-9/11... Holy shit, new conspiracy.

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Rarely is a war movie pulled off so well. Ridley Scott's take on the event in Somalia, which few had likely even heard of, is utterly breathtaking and crushingly realistic. This movie will leave you emotionally strained, but you will be better for the experience.

The actors all perform well and the constant action sequences are all well shot and directed, but we aren't familiarized with any of the characters in a way to create any sort of familiarity or emotional attachment. This lack of connection also causes any if not all antiwar themes to not make its way, and it instead seems more like a gung-ho American war film. Many of my good friends have cited this as one of their favorite movies and I can see why when looking at this movie and looking at my friends, but I can honestly say it is not the war film for me. High octane action sequences, no matter how good, don't work in my mind when the protagonist of the situation is primarily unfamiliar to me, and that seems to be the case during the entire movie.

One of the bloodiest war movies I've seen. I knew about the mission, but it was pretty unreal watching even a fictional version of it. I think I prefer war movies which explore the psychological side of warfare.

Still as harrowing and draining as it was over a decade ago, still as technically impressive as well. Also, I never get tired of how many British/European actors play the American soldiers in this movie. Jamie Lannister is a Delta Sniper. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a grenadier. Bane is a heavy gunner. LUSCIUS FREAKIN' MALFOY is a Ranger Captain. Before these people "made it big," I was never the wiser, and they still work really well in their parts.

But beyond that, the film just hits home with almost everything it attempts, creating a "running battle" through the entire second half that's still a benchmark in the genre. The only real drawback is how broad the characters are drawn (or sketched, at times) simply because there are so many. Still, folks like Eversman, Hoot, Grimes, and McKnight manage to be memorable.

Despite all the british actors faking a US accent this an awesome choral piece of action. Robert Altman's Nashville set in the somalian war without the musical pieces