BLACK HAWK DOWN: MY PERSONAL REVIEW: 2 1/2 STARS

self ^ | 01/18/01 | RaceBannon

[RaceBannon]

Ok, after all the hype, I expected a blockbuster of a movie. Sorry, it aint.

[RaceBannon]

I liked it, but I think Private Ryan has ruined all combat scenes, it has become the standard for realism, and that makes all combat scenes comparable to Private Ryan.

I thought it was good, I know the Army said it was accurate. I did read the book 2 years ago, and it does follow the book.

It just doesnt have the excitement of other great war movies. It had no suspense, even though we are all supposed to knopw how it ends, Ill agree, but there was no cinematic suspense.

The ating was ok, the Delta Force guys were the best characters in the movie. Sam Shepherd was too casual, too much of a Hollywood type to be the part of the General. Tom SIzemore looked bored.

The smaller parts that were polayed, they were ok, some good.

I think they should have found a betteer soundtrack, that helps a lot in building up emotion.

I get VERY emotional at movies, I always put myself in the place of the characters of the film. In plain english, that means I cry at movies, WAR movies, knowing what is probably happening next, screaming at the screen, "Dont pick up the ammo box, it is booby trapped!" kind of stuff.

2.5 stars. I still reccomend it, but it aint no oscar winner.

[RaceBannon]

bump

[Snow Bunny]

FallGuy and I are going to see it this afternoon. Thanks for the ping Race.

[Ratatoskr]

In plain english, that means I cry at movies, WAR movies, knowing what is probably happening next, screaming at the screen, "Dont pick up the ammo box, it is booby trapped!" kind of stuff.

Remind me to find out what theater you go to. And not go there :)

[A CA Guy]

If you read the book and they followed the book should you be expecting a surpise? Maybe in the middle of the movie Robbin Williams should have been shown in a scene doing a USO show! LOL

So you are saying "Wait for cable"! OK

[RaceBannon]

No, Really! I started to cry in Private Ryan about 5 times! I get into movies, I put myself right there, I guess it is just me. But some of the things I saw in some flicks, just hit me emotionally and I think that is what makes a movie good for me, does it bring up emotion for me.

Black Hawk down just didnt do it. I was disappointed. Maybe it will for you, I dunno.

I did cry when ET died though...

[RaceBannon]

Wait for cable?? Not sure, I didnt feel ripped off, (I went to the matinee, though!)

Just not an Oscar Winner. 500,000 times better than Thin Red Line, but then again, "Abott and Costello Join the Army" was a better war movie than that.

[francisandbeans]

I cried during the Muppet Movie....you know the part when they all split apart and they were singing a quiet version of "Rainbow Connection" it really ...

choked me...

Anyone have a tissue?

[Ratatoskr]

Hey, I cry in the movies. It wasn't that. It was the yelling at the screen thing.

[Rodney King]

I liked it, but I think Private Ryan has ruined all combat scenes, it has become the standard for realism, and that makes all combat scenes comparable to Private Ryan

The combat scenes in Private Ryan were great. However, the thing that drives me crazy about all combat scenes is the volume. In real combat, guys basically can't talk to each other at all. There is just too much noise.

The other problems with Private Ryan were:
1. At the end, the tank would not have driven in to the town without infantry clearing the way. Tanks are very vulnerable in cities. and;
2. The explosives that they used for making anti-tank weapons could have much more effectively have been used to simply blow up the bridge.

[RoseofTexas]

Geeezzz, I've to remind myself to pass up MOVIE review posts from movies I reaaaallly want to go see! Though I have to say I was SUPER DISAPPOINTED in The Lord of the Rings. Now that was a MAJOR BOMB!

[Ratatoskr]

At last! Someone else who thought LOTR stunk up the joint. All the gushing reviews, here and everywhere, make my head spin.

[Gumption]

Thanks for the review. I hate seeing movies with high expectations, I'm (almost) always disappointed. So it's good to hear something not-so-positive about BHD.

BTW, I always cry a little watching war movies, even the worst ones, but I don't put myself in their position, I think about the real ultimate sacrifices that just ordinary people paid for my benefit. I feel soooo grateful to all those real life heroes that died, and also the ones that fought in any of the life and death struggles that took place in the name of the U.S.ofA. I cry for all the men that fought and died so I can live free.

But I cry, every time, at the end of West Side Story and the Grinch That Stole Christmas too. Maybe I'm just a giant _ussy.

I still look forward to seeing Black Hawk Down, just to try to see a little of what it was like for those men that fought and died, for us, in that small east African village almost 10 years ago. The surviving participants, of that vicious battle, seem to want the people to see it. So it's the least I can do.

[PackerBoy]

The combat scenes in Private Ryan were great. However, the thing that drives me crazy about all combat scenes is the volume. In real combat, guys basically can't talk to each other at all. There is just too much noise.

The other problems with Private Ryan were: 1. At the end, the tank would not have driven in to the town without infantry clearing the way. Tanks are very vulnerable in cities. and; 2. The explosives that they used for making anti-tank weapons could have much more effectively have been used to simply blow up the bridge.

I disagree. I could not hear much of the dialogue on Omaha Beach in SPR, and I believe that was intended. Also, war vets said the movie footage was very real.

Tank commanders often did things their own ways, including taking unnecessary risks.

Finally, the whole point of the final scene was to defend and protect the bridge, and to destroy it only as a last resort.

Just yanking yer chain here. Wasn't Band of Brothers great, too?

[eternity]

Midway was on TNT this afternoon. Very Good. Saw Pearl Harbor. Couldn't figure out why no one had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. To PC for me. When I was stationed at Kaneohe I used to run message traffic to Midway Island so I feel good vibes seeing old places I have been. Black Hawk Down sounds good if it is historically correct.

[noloveforlibs]

LOL! The Thin Red Line was the biggest piece of shit that I have ever witnessed. I'd rater watch the Prince of Tides with BS Babbler Strei-suck. Hopefully, America-hating scum will be shown the door the next time they try to make such a mockery of a movie. I thought I was the only one who had such hartred for that discracefull slur of a movie. Thank Allah for FR!

[VaMarVet]

I certainly hope you never cried while watching a movie aboard ship or in the barracks;-) Semper Fi and thanks for the review.

[BibChr]

I started leaking tears during the first frames of SPR -- showing the thin American flag flapping in the breeze.

You got nothing on me!

Dan

[Rodney King]

I only saw one episode, and it is very good.

[Check_Your_Premises]

Yeah, SPR choked me up alittle too. The scene where they were coming to tell Mrs. Ryan that she had sacrificed all but one of her boys.