Black Hawk Down (2 Discs) (UK)

Another bad movie! How many this year? Beautifully shot, this shows us the horrors of war. The problem lies with the plot. There isn`t one. The actors all look similar and are not developed properly. The motivations and the background to the war are never really explored. Ridley Scott seemed to have forgotten that you need a script to make a film. This is like a 2 hour long pop video. If you hated Hannibal, you will dislike this. In summary, pointless, plotless and boring.

I watched this DVD without being aware of the huge diversity of opinion this movie generated when it came out - in retrospect this was probably a good idea, there are not many movies which have prompted such split opinions. Viewed with no preconceptions, other than my limted knowledge of the original ill-fated us action, I have to say this movie struck me as one of the best accounts of modern day warfare I have seen todate. It did not glamorise, it did not rely on an over-elaborate or artificial plot and it set out to show the real horrors of modern conflict.

Maybe because it was based on a real incident that I found myself totally involved in the frantic pace of action, distilling 22 hours of relentless carnage into a 2 hour movie. When you watch it with the commentary from 3 of the US personnel who fought in the battle, you can sense how Ridley Scott made a real effort to treat the story as authentically as possible whilst still being able to make it a watchable movie. Sure he could have inflated the plot to make it more elaborate but that would undermined the real story here - the actual personal experience. Consequently all the actors , including Ewan McGregor take a back stage and suppoting role to the main story.

So to the DVD...

1. The Content is excellent , with a real attention to detail and a script and plot line that keeps the chaotic action somehow coherent

2. Video - the Helicopter birds eye views are incredible, colours vibrant and atmospheric. The gun fire effects are some of the best I have heard

3. One of the best audios I have heard, haunting music which is perfect for the unfolding storyline - would have been full marks if it came on DTS

4. features - the second disc down contains an excellent commentary from Ridley Scott and several US service men who where part of the exercise

Overall, a very powerful movie dealing with an incredibly sensitive piece of history which avoided being another Pearl Harbour`. It threw up more questions about what I thought about such conflicts than I was expecting - more than just entertainment - excellent.

Wauw..this is one of my favorite movies.
Image quality is incredibly sharp and detailed and the sound is phenomenal on my Yamaha home video..
I`m still totally astonished by the picture quality of this movie every time I watch it.
I play this movie at least once or 2 times a week during work just to enjoy the images and sound..
For me this one rocks!
Off course you must like war and action movies but only people who are really into this kind of movies will understand what I`m trying to say.
I don`t give it a full 10 for features because DTS EX would have made this baby a dream come trough.

First things first, Audio and Video are both excellent as are the features.

The Movie: Superbly shot and watchable BUT the plot gets lost along the way. The movie just does not achieve what it sets out to accomplish and feels flat at the end. The lesson that the real events left America with is not portrayed in the movie and this is why the movie fails to leave you with any lasting feelings.

If you want to watch a war movie with a point and a story try Platoon, Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now.