Caston Rowse- Black Hawk Down Movie Evaluation

Caston Rowse- Black Hawk Down


Rating: 4 1/2 Stars out of 5.  




Black Hawk Down, produced in 2002 and directed/co-produced by Ridley Scott, is an action packed drama war film that ventures into the events of the Battle of Mogadishu. This accurate real life production is based off of the book Black Hawk Down written by Mark Bowden, depicting the bloody and fatal battle in the deserts of Somalia back in 1993. The producers of the film casted multiple well known actors including Josh Hartnett as SSG Matt Eversmann, Ewan McGregor as SPC John "Grimesey" Grimes, and Sam Shepard as MG William F. Garrison. The violent film is an American Classic, using multiple techniques of movie production and inspiring quotes/scenes of brotherhood and patriotism.

The first title card shown in the beginning of the movie read "Only the dead have seen the end of War (Plato)." By adding this quote, a powerful statement was being made as an introduction into the horror that would follow in the next scenes. The Battle of Mogadishu was a tribute to the failure of former President Bill Clinton's office, but demonstrated the patriotism United States soldiers had in defending their country. The reality is, the war that was occurring in Somalia was a Civil War, and was not a place for American troops to be risking their lives. At the time, Mogadishu (a city in Somalia) was split in half, controlled by both the United Nations and a powerful warlord known as Mohamed Farrah Aidid. The battle depicted in this movie occurred when 3 battalions were ordered in to the city to take prisoners of the local militia. The 75th Army Rangers, Delta Force, and the 160th SOAR- Night Stalkers were to go in with the initiative, capture these prisoners, and return; a mission that was to take only one hour. However, when the American troops undertook heavy resistance from local militia, they lost their first "bird", Black Hawk bird six-four. This sent the entire mission to chaos, as infantry and retaliation units were shot at, and rescue missions for trapped pilots and soldiers were organized. The initiative was lost. The three battalions     would face almost 36 hours of hell, and were put in a position that training could not have predicted.

One aspect of a film that separates it from other movies, is the depth at which it goes to give insight on a particular matter. Hollywood is very capable of producing shallow, happy-go-lucky films that please audiences world wide, yet they have an increasingly difficult time with the creation of films that tease the minds of viewers. A film earning "5 stars" utilizes depth in its script, holding off on easier interpreting scenes for moments in the movie that have other great qualities. An example of this in Black Hawk Down is found with two contrasting scenes. Following the crash of the first Black Hawk bird, two delta snipers head to the crash sight knowing it was them versus several hundred armed civilians. This scene was violent, yes, but it was simple in dialogue and acting. Though the insight was not specifically given to the audience, it was there in the actions that these snipers took. They gave up their lives for a single helicopter pilot, and for the cause of liberty. As history tells, they were the first soldiers to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War at that time. A different scene uses it's dialogue to give depth to the message behind the movie. It is one of the last scenes in the movie, where Hoot is loading up and getting ready to go back and find more survivors. He says "when I go home people'll ask me, 'Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?' You know what I'll say? I won't say a goddamn word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is." Here we see the reason behind why these men do what they do. It's sheer patriotism, giving an arm and a leg for the life of the man fighting right next to you. This insight provides reality to the movie, giving the soldiers humanized roles instead of simple killing machines. Depth is important in a movie. The same applies to society; depth leads to intelligence but intelligence ratifies depth.

A good movie uses multiple characters and personalities to paint a wider contrast from scene to scene. Black Hawk Down has a cast of over 50 characters, with 20 playing key parts. Because there are three battalions, it is almost as if three plots begin to role out from the beginning. The first group we see is the 75th Army Rangers, with Unit Chief SSG Matt Eversmann. These troops have been rattled, after seeing several of their comrades die in action in the previous weeks. Their former Unit Chief was sent home after seizing during mealtime, so SSG Matt Eversmann is fairly new to leading this group. They form a bond through the events of Mogadishu, bringing them together as a unit, but also bringing them together as friends. Then we see the Delta Force unit, who took some of the heaviest casualties throughout the battle. They were being directed to the crash sight from an areal perspective coming from one of the birds, but non of the routes they took were successful in getting them to the crash sight. Finally, when they were given permission to head back to the base to regroup and drop off the dead or injured, they were told they had to go back in to the action and re-group with the 75th Rangers unit. Though multiple plots were seen throughout the duration of the movie, these two were the main plots to focus on, as matters continued their  constant decline towards defeat. The characters involved with these two plots were so widespread that they balanced each other out. Grimes "Grimesey" was a specialist for the 75th Rangers unit, who was taken from his desk position to fill a vacancy in the group. He was nervous, shaky, and "new" to the action that took place, but slowly earned his place in the group and developed as a man throughout the experience. He eventually went on to save the life of one of his comrades, demonstrating the complete change in character from the beginning to the end. In the same group was the new Unit Chief SSG Matt Eversmann who was a rough skinned but brave hearted individual, fully capable of leading his men to live another day. As he led his men, he formed an unusual bond to SPC Blackburn, played by Orlando Bloom. When Blackburn falls out of a helicopter, SSG Eversmann is the first to jump down from his position to aid in his recovery. Without the multiple character relationships and contrasts, the movie itself would be good, but it would remain similar to the other movies of its genre. Certain aspects of greatness are achieved here to put Black Hawk Down on top, achieving its four and a half star rating.

Perhaps one of the greatest lines from the movie came from SSG Eversmann when he is looking at the devastation that Aidid caused to the Somalian people. He says "Look, these people, they have no jobs, no food, no education, no future. I just figure that we have two things we can do. Help, or we can sit back and watch a country destroy itself on CNN. Right?" He says later "Nobody asks to be a hero, it just sometimes turns out that way." In judging the individual aspects that makes a movie great, one criteria that  comes up frequently is the race of time. Time can only tell if a message will linger on to the generations that watch the movie after its time. A movie needs to meet this criteria to survive; the ability to permanently imprint a message in the minds of viewers carries the movies name on for years. In this film, a definition of patriotism is given without words. SSG Eversmann has some of the best lines including the ones mentioned before, that demonstrate what it means to be an American Soldier. The movie gives visualization to the song by Toby Keith called American Soldier that says "I'm an American Soldier, an American. Beside my brothers and my sisters, I will proudly take a stand. When liberty's in jeopardy, i'll always do whats right, i'm out here on the front lines, so sleep in peace tonight. American soldier, oh an American." These troops fighting this war know what their cause is. They know the sacrifice, they've weighed the outcome. What makes it more noble is their understanding that people at home don't understand why they do what they do, and they get little to no support from the citizens of their home front. However, an American soldier doesn't fight for popularity or glory. An American soldier doesn't take a bullet for money, awards, or fame. An American soldier puts his or her life on the table for the very rights that EVERY human under God shall be protected with; Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. This message is frequently shown through the dedication these troops have towards the people they are fighting for. They aren't fighting for their families or friends back at home, instead they take a bullet for the men, women, and children of Somalia.

In researching the outcome of the actual Battle of Mogadishu, the casualty counts were painful. At the end of the movie, perhaps the most touching of scenes was a black background with the names of the 19 men who died fighting for the citizens of Somalia, their names written in white. America lost 19 brave, courageous soldiers, but freed an impoverished nation of over 1,000 Somalian militia members. This movie went out of its way to bring just an ounce more honor to those 19 names. It brought passion, understanding, but most importantly it brought justice to their memories. It's four and a half star rating is well earned, being backed up with a powerful message, amazing insight/depth, and a cast and crew of spectacular actors and crew members that did their job with valor. Overall, Black Hawk Down brought its audience into the deserts of Somalia, and took them on a ride that would change their view on life and war forever.

Sources Include:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265086/quotes

(IMDB on Black Hawk Down)

http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/Somalia93/Somalia93.html

(Operation Restore Hope, Battle of Mogadishu 2001)

http://inquirer.philly.com/packages/somalia/sitemap.asp

(Black Hawk Down the book online)

and of course...

Black Hawk Down movie by Ridley Scott. (2002)

Dedicated to the 19 American Men who lost their lives fighting for hope of change, peace, and restoration to the devastated Somalian homelands. Their names remain in peace and honor.


MSG Garry Gordon: Metal of Honor, Purple Heart
SFC Randy Shughart: Metal of Honor, Purple Heart
SSG Daniel Busch: Silver Star, Purple Heart
SFC Earl Fillmore: Silver Star, Purple Heart
MSG Tim "Griz" Martin: Silver Star, Purple Heart
CPL Jaime Smith: Silver Star with Valor Device and Oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart
SPC James Cavaco: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SGT Casey Joyce: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
PFC Richard "Alphabet" Kowalewski: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SGT Dominick Pilla: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SGT Lorenzo Ruiz: Bronze Star with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SSG William Cleveland: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SSG Thomas Field: Silver Star, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart
CW4 Raymond Frank: Silver Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart
CW3 Clifton "Elvis" Wolcott: Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart
CW2 Donovan "Bull" Briley: Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with Valor Device, Purple Heart
SGT Cornell Houston: Bronze Star with Valor Device, de Fleury Medal, Purple Heart
PFC James Martin Jr: Purple Heart