Movie Review: BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001)
Black Hawk Down (2001)–****
The name Jerry “Hollywood” Bruckheimer is synonymous with motion picture trash. His brain-dead big budget blockbusters (Armageddon for example) are rarely entertaining let alone notable. Bruckheimer’s newest film, Black Hawk Down, teams up the infamous producer with the legendary director Ridley Scott. Even with Bruckheimer’s track record, Black Hawk Downproves to be a timely, unprecedented war film destined to become a classic.
It was a mission that was only supposed to take 30 minutes. The United States Rangers and Delta Force are sent to arrest the top officials of a genocidal Somali Warlord’s cabinet in the middle of hostile territory. Supervised by Major General William Garrison (Sam Shepard), the forces engage in a raid, but the warlord’s militia has more than enough firepower to compete with the soldiers. When a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter is shot down, the initiative changes from seek and capture to rescue. By the end of the confrontation, 18 American soldiers are dead, hundreds of Somalis are killed, and two Black Hawks are down.
The last word I ever thought I would use in a Jerry Bruckheimer film review is “classic.” Black Hawk Down certainly changed that idea. Shades of a usual Bruckheimer action flick are not absent, especially when two of the soldiers are portrayed as an Abbot and Costello-like pair.Black Hawk Down as a whole, however, is a completely different film for the action producer. The unrelenting, overwhelming firepower in Black Hawk Down isn’t just visual; it’s emotional. For the first time in his lengthy career of fireworks pictures, Bruckheimer has a film that grabs the audience at the heart along with the eyes.
Characterization in Black Hawk Down feels hollow at first. The characters come off as the normal shallow action heroes. It’s not until the characters know themselves–after the first exchange of gunfire or first time helping a fallen comrade–that the audience gets to know them. The self-actualization these characters achieve on screen exposes the strength and courage of each real-life hero. Audacious, touching, but most of all human, the characters in Black Hawk Down make the action take a back seat to the poignant war story.
What is a well-written character with out a great actor behind it? For an answer to that question you’ll have to look somewhere other than in Black Hawk Down. The cast is gives such a tremendous ensemble performance, there’s little chance for any single cast member to standout. Sam Shepard, who stars as Major General Garrison, doesn’t do much more than stare at a few television screens for most of the movie, but his performance as a helpless spectator is riveting. When there is are several scenarios occurring all at once, it’s hard to think outside of the particular situation. Shepard’s performance, however, is a strong presence with in every single moment. Josh Hartnett is solid in his role as the sensitive idealist. While this isn’t his best performance, his work along side Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, and newcomer Orlando Bloom is a memorable one.
Even with the marvelous writing and acting, we have to remember this is a Bruckheimer film and action does matter. Luckily the action is controlled by living legend, Ridley Scott. Scott’s ability to create a poignant story out of a basic action film was proved last year with his Roman epicGladiator. This time around, his tale of modern war is the same hard-hitting drama with even more astounding visual achievements. Production designer Arthur Max magnificently creates a booming marketplace teeming with all the essentials for mob-rule. With cinematographer Slovamir Idziak’s beautiful locations, Max turns the Moroccan landscapes into a believable trip to Somalia. Ridley Scott’s crew of filmmakers plus his own meticulous eye makes Black Hawk Down a visual masterpiece.
It’s amazing to think Jerry Bruckheimer, the man who produced Pearl Harbor, was behind this movie. Compared to that pretentious garbage and Bruckheimer’s other films, Black Hawk Downlooks like Citizen Kane. On it’s own, Black Hawk Down is a cinematic landmark that raises the bar for every war film to come.
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