BRUTAL 'BLACK HAWK' MAKES IMPRESSION

DAN MCLELLAN

Originally published Friday, January 25, 2002

Ridley Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer have created the most visceral and brutal war movie of all time.

Scott doesn't need to pummel you with anti-war messages throughout the film because simply seeing it is enough. Based on a true event of 1993, "Black Hawk Down" covers a botched raid in Somalia where 19 Americans and more than 1,000 Somalians died -- as explained in brief and blunt title cards.

The ensemble cast is impressive, full of up-and-coming stars such as Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom.

Even though the cast contains current heartthrobs, there is no love story set against a backdrop of tragedy, as was the case in "Titanic" and "Pearl Harbor." In fact, the only females I remember from the movie was a lady in a pair of jeans and a Playboy poster, neither of whom had memorable speaking parts.

Hartnett, the star by amount of screen time alone, does a decent job -- he's too pretty to be a soldier, though.

The rest of the characters are given a bare minimum of character development, and though "BHD" is a true story, stock characters still run rampant, especially Bloom, who gets stuck playing "The Overenthusiastic Kid Who Dies First."

None of the other men have any particular depth and look identical when covered with dirt and blood. As the massacre continues, the only reliable way to tell them apart is by injuries.

And injuries abound in "BHD."

Most of them are too gruesome to give away here, but this is possibly the most disturbingly violent picture of the past decade. I was disgusted when I heard a boy, who couldn't have been more than 4, crying as a man was impaled by an RPG -- Rocket Propelled Grenade for you nonmilitary types.

Please, parents, don't let anyone younger than 15 into this movie.

An interesting movie of its genre, "BHD" doesn't try to defend or explain our actions from a political point of view. The story covers the soldiers and their plight. Nothing more.

The opening title cards that smack of propaganda and racism support this. The Rangers and the Deltas didn't care why they were killing 1,000 Somalians. They did what they were told and accepted their superiors' explanation of the raid.

To kill someone you've got to hate him. The soldiers understood this, and that the difference between living and dying could come down to one second. If a Ranger spends that one second in pity, he's dead. They had to convince themselves that they were fighting the most detestable group of people on earth. And in "Black Hawk Down" the Skinnies, as the Somalians are called, are the most detestable people on earth.

Depending on how you interpret the film you will be thoroughly offended, or you will believe that Scott was simply trying to display the beliefs and thoughts of the grunt soldier.

Despite the weak exposition and lack of character development, this is still one of the most powerful war movies ever made. Your ability to stomach the strong violence will affect your enjoyment of "Black Hawk Down," though, so think carefully before deciding to go.

Daniel McLellan is a freshman at Olympia High School.

'Black Hawk Down'

3 Stars

- Rating: R.

- Playing: Lacey, Shelton and Yelm cinemas.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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