Black Hawk Down

  • Review Date: November 10, 2005
  • R
  • Genre: Drama
  • 2002
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Violent depiction of a risky rescue; adults only.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this film is extremely violent. If parents do allow their teens to watch, they should be aware that the sad and often violent scenes are traumatic. While it does not include as much foul language as often found in contemporary war films, the violence is extremely graphic and non-stop. American soldiers are bloodily and graphically killed from the beginning until the end. This film is in no way recommended for kids under seventeen.

  • The film does show valiant attempts by Special Forces troops to rescue their trapped comrades, but it does not really investigate the causes of the conflict. It also avoids dealing with the number of Somalis that were killed in the maneuver. This may complicate the portrayals of both the Americans and the militia.
  • EXTREMELY graphic deaths of soldiers (dismemberment, beatings, impaling, etc.). Killing of civilians, starvation, the killing and roasting of a wild boar.
  • Not applicable.

What's the story?

In the early 1990s a humanitarian crisis in the country of Somalia brought international attention to the region. On October 3, 1993 the United States military sent approximately 120 members of US Special Forces to capture the warlord General Aidid or any of his top lieutenants. This supposedly quick operation turned into a two-day frantic mission and withdrawal. BLACK HAWK DOWN depicts the costly rescue attempt by US Rangers and Delta Operators sent to retrieve men trapped when their black hawk helicopters were downed. Trapped in a Somali war-zone, the soldiers struggle to regroup, save their wounded, and avoid the sights of a frenzied and armed militia. Through hostile fire, already injured men re-enter the war-zone in a valiant attempt to "leave no man behind."


Is it any good?

 

Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator), BLACK HAWK DOWN is a fast-paced trip through blood and guts. Scott's desire for realism comes through in the film's connections to the real US Rangers. Many of the pilots used in the film participated in the actual 1993 conflict. The film does a fine job of creating viewer sympathy for its characters.

Although the action scenes truly serve as the leading lady, the film uses recognizable celebrities to create identification with their characters. Josh Hartnett (Halloween H20, Pearl Harbor), Ewan McGregor (Star Wars: Episodes I-III, Moulin Rouge), and Tom Sizemore (Heart and Souls, Saving Private Ryan) provide known faces to a few men caught in the chaos. The film was rewarded for its dramatic battle scenes with Academy Awards for Best Sound and Best Editing.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

Families can talk about issues regarding life, death, war, and honor. Why did the soldiers return to the ground to continue fighting? Do you think it was right to send soldiers there in the first place? How may this conflict relate to ones in the present? Parents may also want to discuss this film's historical accuracy by comparing it against a documentary that covers the same events.


This review of Black Hawk Down was written by
Parent
October 16, 2009
 
GOOD FOR OLDER KIDS!yippe cai ya!
AWSOME Must WATCH it!!!

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Kid, 12 years old
October 16, 2009
 
GOOD FOR OLDER KIDS!yippe cai ya!
AWSOME Must WATCH it!!!

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Adult
October 29, 2009
 
Hooah, support our troops
I love this movie. Im 17, I plan to join the Army National Guard. Is war not hell? Soldiers give up their civil rights so you can have yours. There is no good way to get out of Iraqistan anyway. This was a war movie, of course it is graphic, but it isn't brutal stupid like the "Saw" movies. If you are okay with the full bloodiness of war, this is an excellent movie, personally my favorite.
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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
 

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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Good to change a kids mind
If you kid whants to join the military and be infantry,this is the best movie to change his mind. You see lots of bloodshed and gore in this movie. In one scene you see a guy lose his lower body,witch freaks me out even after watching it 5 times. that is probly the longest gore scene in the movie. I'd say dont show it to anybody whos matruity level is below 17.

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Kid, 12 years old
March 5, 2010
 
Every kid has diffrent levels of being able to see this level of war
I'm 12 I've seen the movie read the book they're both really good .Violence is intense but teens can handle it. Oh yeah there was one guy who said its good for changing kids minds about joining the military but A why would you want to change your kids minds about that and B I've seen it and the opening scene saving private Ryan yet I still want to be a airborne ranger and live the life of danger.
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Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2010
 
Wonderful movie, but extraordinarily graphic, intensely violent, and disturbing. Adults only 18+.
I watched this movie, and it was great, but very, very intense. Throughout the first part of the movie it didn't have a lot of graphic content, but it was still very intense. Later on in the movie, the amount of graphic and disturbing content increased and increased. Overall, I rate this movie Off for ages 17 and under, Iffy for ages 18-19, and On for ages 19+. Please read below for additional details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Violence (5/5): There are extremely graphic and intense depictions of war violence and combat throughout the movie. There are two instances where you see a soldier was cut in half, and his guts are dangling down where his legs should be. In one scene, a soldier gets shot in the leg, and he is carried screaming in agony into a building, and later they have to operate on a vein that got stuck in his muscle to stop the bleeding, and the patient passes out from the pain. Throughout most of the movie (other than around the first 30 or so minutes) there is practically constant gunfire and combat, and a lot of explosions. In one scene, a window explodes in a man's face when he is driving an armored vehicle, and he starts crying and screaming in agony while he continues to drive the car. In one scene, there is a very bloody, graphic, explicit depiction of a man being gored by a rocket. A kid on the enemy side accidentally shoots one of his own people, an old woman. Tons of people are shot. The violence goes beyond the scale of 5/5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language (5/5): There is very strong, but not constant, language throughout the movie. The F word is used a lot, as are other words, usually s--t, or a--. In one scene, a soldier briefly makes an obscene hand gesture with his middle finger. Other words used are da-- and h---. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sex (2/5): Very brief sexual content. In one scene, a poster with a woman in a bra posing sexually is shown off to the side of the screen. In another scene, a man makes a gesture with his hand that indicates m*******tion. It could also be interpreted as a g** h****ob. The reason I only rate the severity of the sexual content 2/5 is because children most likely would not understand the sexual hand gesture. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bad messages (1/5): In one scene, a Simoli soldier tells his prisoner, who is an American pilot, that without war there would be no peace, so people would keep getting killed. This is a bad message, but if you are mature enough to watch the movie you should be mature enough not to let this affect you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good messages (2/5): The American soldiers stop at nothing and go out of their way to ensure each others' safety. They care about each other a lot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Good Role Models (1/5): The American soldiers stop at nothing and go out of their way to ensure each others' safety. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Restatement of my rating: I rate this movie Off for ages 17 and under, Iffy for ages 18-19, and On for ages 19+.
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Kid, 12 years old
April 9, 2008
 

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Teen, 14 years old
December 29, 2010
 
very great and pretty intense
this movie is great but very intense for younger viewers. there is a lot of the f word though not more than other war movies. it does show how brave the soldiers in there were. i think that if you are a teenager who has seen other war movies that this one would be great for you.
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Kid, 12 years old
March 27, 2009
 
I saw this movie little while ago. I remember this movie was very violent. Plenty of gun fire and explosives. It is very descriptive of the war in Iraq and really makes you think about all that our armed forces have to go through. I remember the language was also not so good but I don't think that was nearly as much as a problom then the violence. I thought of this as more like a modern day saving privet Ryan in Iraq. Over all it was a good movie!
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This review of Black Hawk Down was written by
Studio:Sony Pictures
Director:Ridley Scott
Cast:Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett, Tom Sizemore
Genre:Drama
Run time:144 minutes
Theatrical release date:January 1, 2002
DVD release date:June 11, 2002
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:intense, realistic, graphic war violence, and for language

This review of Black Hawk Down was written by
 

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