Tom Whitaker
17-12-2001, 22:10
I haven’t read the book, but I hope this is an accurate comparison:
“The story of combat is timeless. It is about the same things whether in Troy or Gettysburg, Normandy or the Ia Drang. It is about soldiers, most of them young, trapped in a fight to the death. The extreme and terrible nature of war touches something essential about being human…” – Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down: A Story Of Modern War
vs.
“Dugga dugga dugga! Neeeeeeeeowwwwwwww! Booooooooooom!” – Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down
OK, I’ve never found any of Ridley’s movies that thrilling – I’m no fan of Blade Runner, I find it frankly unengaging – but this is tedium. I have Gladiator playing in the background and whilst I’m not a big fan of that, it’s a masterpiece next to BHD.
Many have said that the opening was inadequate, that we don’t get to know the characters. And whilst that’s true to an extent, it’s also the best part of the film because it has momentum, purpose, direction. We’re getting a set up, meeting a bunch of guys, enjoying their camaraderie… and you can kid yourself for a while that there’s a plot coming. But no – it’s just monotonous action. The opening battle could be the last – this is one running gunfight after another, with no suspense and only flashes of excitement.
Early on, the excellent Eric Bana’s character tells idealistic Josh Hartnett that as soon as the first bullet is fired, all his politics will go out the window. And that’s just what happens to the movie. Once the fighting starts, the Somalians are treated as simple cannon fodder. As the credits roll, we’re informed that over 1000 of them died, and 19 Americans. Of course, the US soldiers are all listed by name, the 1000s a mere afterthought. Three Kings showed us we could have a war movie that considered the issues on both sides. This just considers the explosions, and they’re not very exciting ones at that. It’s a terrible indictment of a movie (or maybe of me) to say that, despite the fact that these events were real, the only thing that held my attention was waiting for another of the few horrifically gory close ups of severed limbs.
“The story of combat is timeless. It is about the same things whether in Troy or Gettysburg, Normandy or the Ia Drang. It is about soldiers, most of them young, trapped in a fight to the death. The extreme and terrible nature of war touches something essential about being human…” – Mark Bowden, Black Hawk Down: A Story Of Modern War
vs.
“Dugga dugga dugga! Neeeeeeeeowwwwwwww! Booooooooooom!” – Ridley Scott, Black Hawk Down
OK, I’ve never found any of Ridley’s movies that thrilling – I’m no fan of Blade Runner, I find it frankly unengaging – but this is tedium. I have Gladiator playing in the background and whilst I’m not a big fan of that, it’s a masterpiece next to BHD.
Many have said that the opening was inadequate, that we don’t get to know the characters. And whilst that’s true to an extent, it’s also the best part of the film because it has momentum, purpose, direction. We’re getting a set up, meeting a bunch of guys, enjoying their camaraderie… and you can kid yourself for a while that there’s a plot coming. But no – it’s just monotonous action. The opening battle could be the last – this is one running gunfight after another, with no suspense and only flashes of excitement.
Early on, the excellent Eric Bana’s character tells idealistic Josh Hartnett that as soon as the first bullet is fired, all his politics will go out the window. And that’s just what happens to the movie. Once the fighting starts, the Somalians are treated as simple cannon fodder. As the credits roll, we’re informed that over 1000 of them died, and 19 Americans. Of course, the US soldiers are all listed by name, the 1000s a mere afterthought. Three Kings showed us we could have a war movie that considered the issues on both sides. This just considers the explosions, and they’re not very exciting ones at that. It’s a terrible indictment of a movie (or maybe of me) to say that, despite the fact that these events were real, the only thing that held my attention was waiting for another of the few horrifically gory close ups of severed limbs.