DVD review (From Penarth Times)

DVD review

Black Hawk Down

THIS gripping movie, based on the novel Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, charts the course of a failed mission in Somalia.

With a host of top actors including Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Sam Shepard and Jason Isaacs, it compresses a 15-hour battle into two-and-a-half hours. The film starts with typical macho bravado from a group of young American soldiers, and follows them through life-changing events in war-torn Mogadishu.

It is given a 15 certificate and with the level of explicit language and violence, it is deserved. But the film is not overly gory. It does not glorify war and manages to explore a complicated series of personalities without losing the plot.

The last chapter of the DVD, Aftermath, brings the whole movie back into focus. If while the audience is engrossed in the film they forget it is based on fact, this last chapter gives a stark reminder.

There is very little wonder this film took two Oscars. It's is action-packed and definitely one for war film fanatics.