Luke
stu-kicks
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoBlack Hawk Down
January 8th 2007 05:23
Another film about war. "Yay" you may say, in a sarcastic manner, and - depending on the film in question - I'd probably be fairly inclined to say "yay" in a sarcastic exclamation-free manner too. 'Black Hawk Down' sets itself apart from other recent war films (eg. 'We Were Soldiers') by making it's setting something more contemporary and lesser-known (on a worldwide scale, at least).
Based on a true story, 'Black Hawk Down' utilises this to almost completely eschew a plot. As it's focus is an American mission into Somalian warlord-held territory, it can focus on the conflict at hand without boring the audience (unlike the multitude of Vietnam war-films, who must do battle with a tide of viewer familiarity). Basically, the film follows 123 elite U.S. soldiers on an assumed routine mission that goes horribly wrong. The story follows various characters through the initial assault that ends up lasting for nearly 24 hours.
The film takes thirty minutes or so to set up the action, and from there on in it's a relentless, protracted shit-storm that lasts for the rest of movie. After a while it can wear a little thin, especially considering that director Ridley Scott has spread viewer-empathy over too many characters, making it hard to keep track of who is who. It's obvious that he has tried to overcome this problem by casting a multitude of familiar faces (a lot of them, oddly, from outside of the U.S.), but they are covered with grime, blood and helmets for most of the time, making it hard to tell the difference between each actor – especially when they’re all shouting. That brings me to another point, who was the main character? At first it seemed to set up Orlando Bloom as one of the leads the film would be following, but he is hardly seen again. I'm inclined to think that Hartnett's character is the one the film should be focusing on, but a lot of the time this is unclear… I guess Scott didn’t think it was all that important.
The film seems almost apolitical, even about the conflict itself... by the end, little point has been made, if any. In a way this is what the film wants to be about, taking it's 'angle' on war as 'soldiers fight for the man next to them' and that the troops should 'leave no man behind', and throwing everything else - moral, ethical, political, whatever - out of the window. Unfortunately, I don't think this message comes across completely - the camaraderie between the soldiers is undeveloped, and the aforementioned multitude of characters doesn't help this either.
Where 'Black Hawk Down' fails theme and character-wise, it succeeds hugely on a technical basis. The speed of the film used to shoot it is faster than usual for most movies, making the images of explosions and fire-fighting some of the highest-quality ever committed to film. The relentlessness of the battle is an achievement in itself too - building an intense atmosphere of fear and adrenalin throughout, a feel unmatched amongst most war films.
So, if you're looking for action - this is the best place to get it. Anyone hoping to follow their favourite actor in this will probably be disappointed though, as it is very much an ensemble piece, with little time spent on each character.
HIGHLIGHTS: The crashing of the Black Hawk helicopters and Eric Bana's character (Bana seems to be playing hardarses in everything he's in lately - Chopper, Black Hawk Down, The Hulk - you wouldn't think it after seeing 'Full Frontal'). It's also fun to hear Ewen Bremner (Spud in 'Trainspotting') attempt an American accent.
TRIVIA: Impressive castlist... Tom Sizemore, Ewen McGregor, Eric Bana, Josh Hartnett, Jason Isaacs, Orlando Bloom, William Fichtner, Sam Shepard and Jeremy Piven.
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