A war film praised for its realism, and has been described as “compelling” and “a masterpiece” by those who have watched it. Black Hawk Down was released in 2001, tells the story of the U.S military raid in Mogadishu and the shooting down of a Black Hawk helicopter, and is based on the non-fiction book Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War by journalist Mark Bowden.
The action-packed film, rated an impressive 4.7 stars out of five on Amazon Prime, is full of action. Although it has been criticised for some event inaccuracies, military experts and viewers have praised its realism.
A retired Delta Force operator who also served in the Army Special Forces told Insider that the producers and directors did “a really good job” at capturing the violence of action and thinks “they had help and advising from SOF [special-operations forces] veterans”.
In the book Combat Films, author Steven J. Rubin called it “amazingly realistic,” noting that the movie had Colonel Tom Matthews as its military technical advisor. As well as war military experts, fans also commended the film for a number of things, including the storytelling, drama, and portrayal of war.
A Google Review left by Rudransh Patel describes director Ridley Scott as a “true master in film making”, claims the film has “one of the best cast” and an action sequence that is both “thrilling and ground breaking”.
She continued: “This movie is masterpiece, one of the best modern warfare movies ever made. Go just watch….it definitely blows your mind.”
Over on Amazon Prime, A D Powell said: “This film is a masterpiece of directorship and fine acting with those actors involved playing their allotted roles with great flourish. And so realistic, depicting close combat with gusto. A truly great film.”
Abiola O. Lapite, branded it as the “finest” war film they have ever seen. “There are no sappy romantic arcs here, no uplifting happy endings to leave a warm glow of satisfaction in a viewer’s heart, just 2 hours of unrelenting terror, chaos and brutality – about as close as one can get to experiencing what the reality must have been like from the safety of one’s home,” they wrote.
Black Hawk Down is available to rent for £3.49 or you can currently buy it for £4.99 instead of £7.99.