Cinema Montreal

[ATTENTION: This review reveals content of the movie.]
POSSIBLY the best war movie I’ve ever seen. Possibly. I really like how there is almost zero character development and the whole thing is just action, action, action. If this was a fictitious tale, then you can go crazy on the whole character development but when you are telling the true story of a bunch of Army Rangers and Delta Force losing their lives on October 3, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia, you don’t really want to get all mushy. Just keep it to the facts and go. Ridley Scott does an amazing job at capturing the chaos and mayhem of urban battle with amazing visual finesse. You will barely notice the presence of Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana or Josh Hartnett since their keeping their heads down most of the time trying not to get killed. What I really like is that this is totally based on the book that dude from Philadelphia wrote which was thoroughly researched and critically acclaimed. I like how the movie doesn’t get into the context of the conflict at all (just mentioning that after this day, Bill Clinton pulled all U. S. troops out of Somalia for good), but just concentrates on the fighting that took place that day. This is how, I believe, war movies should be made. Lean, mean, intense and ultra realistic. You’re not gonna run out to the enlistment office after watching this. Movies like this actually do MORE good for war veterans and currently enlisted men because they help audiences understand and sympathize with the actual experiences of combat troops, instead of trivializing them into entertainments. It’s a stunning depiction of actual war. So much so, that you have to remind yourself that you’re not actually watching a documentary.

Note: The review posted on this page is a personal opinion of our reader. We are not responsible for its content.