I vividly remembered the news reports in October 1993 of the body of an American serviceman being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu following the battle there . A couple of years later my interest of the battle was rekindled by an edition of the BBC`s excellent history show TIMEWATCH that spoke to the survivors of " The biggest firefight involving American troops since Vietnam " , so when Mark Bowden released his book BLACK HAWK DOWN I opened the first page and found myself unable to put it down , and when I heard Ridley Scott was going to bring Bowden`s book to the big screen I was looking forward to seeing it

I did enjoy the movie and have to take issue with some of the comments raised . First of all people complain about events and incidents being changed , I know how you feel but with any adaptation there`s bound to be bits condensed , the only real criticisms that can justified is that this film version totally negates the Somali point of view ( For those of you who haven`t read the book Mark Bowden writes his account in a similar subjective manner Corneilus Ryan wrote his trilogy - two of which THE LONGEST DAY and A BRIDGE TOO FAR were made into blockbuster movies - dealing with the last months of the war in Europe ) but Bowden`s book is an account of the battle of Mogadishu , that`s what it is - An account that doesn`t really concern itself with wider issues like politics or anti-war sentiment , so it seems churlish to complain about concepts like character development because that`s not what the story is about . I`ve also heard teenage girls complain that Orlando Bloom doesn`t get enough screen time and that they found it too violent . I`m sorry to hear that girls , hopefully next time you go to the cinema you might like to find out what you`re letting yourself in for . As for the rest of the screenplay it is accurate right down to the friction between the Deltas and the Rangers and the fact the Americans were actually rescued by a UN force composed of Malaysians and Pakistanis

Ridley Scott rightly deserved an Oscar nomination with BHD . It`s his movie and he surpasses anything Spielberg achieved with the overrated SAVING PRIVATE RYAN . War is hell and this is a film of stark and haunting imagery of victims of famine , of mutilated soldiers and civilians . Both editing and cinematography are superb with many great scenes like the small stream of American soldiers walking up the street while on the other side of the houses a massive torrent of armed militiamen are walking in the same direction . My only real complaints of what`s on screen is Ewan McGregor`s awful American accent ( It`s especially so when you stop to consider that most of the cast aren`t played by American actors )and Hans Zimmer score resembles that of most of his other movies , but I shouldn`t nitpick because I found this Scott`s best film alongside GLADIATOR

Ridley Scott directs a muscular retelling of the ill fated mission in the Somalian civil war in 1993. Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid declared war on the remaining UN personnel and US forces were deployed to capture Aidid.

As always Scott assembles a multi-national cast and future rising stars to tell his story without resorting to war movie clichés. This is a full on assault with bullets flying as the crew of the downed helicopter stave off the Somali militia as their comrades try to extract them whilst other US soldiers try to reach the safety of the UN safe zone.

It very much tells the story from the soldiers view and gives a more realistic impression of conflict. It dwells little on the politics but focuses on action but also mixes this with humour even if it might be of the bleak kind. Eric Bana, Josh Harnett give the best performances and good support provided by Tom Sizemore, Ewan McGregor, Ewen Bremner, William Fichtner and Orlando Bloom.

This is a strong film, not for the faint-hearted.

Gripping, exciting and downright dramatic, this war drama from Ridley Scott is another notch in the director's blossoming career (following on from the disappointing HANNIBAL). Scott handles both the drama and action with flair and skill and the result is an epic-feeling movie which, following on from SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, shows you what war is really all about. Forget the long-gone days of cinema where soldiers never got dirty and war was glamourised to the extreme; this is a film that puts you right into the thick of the action, making you feel like you're actually taking part in the battle. The realism is thick and at the end of the film you feel exhausted so you know the work has paid off.

Technically, the film is excellent, with fine action choreography and some great camera angles that are up close and personal. The various CGI effects are used to heighten the realism of the drama, but the main thing is that you never feel like you're watching CGI, so they are effective in the utmost. The film is bleak, violent and also extremely gory in places, so only strong stomachs need apply. A cast loaded with faces fill out their roles respectively and make you feel for the various characters – in particular William Fichter, Jason Isaacs, Kim Coates, Tom Sizemore and Ewen Bremner give fine performances, as well as the more famous leads. BLACK HAWK DOWN is a classic and exciting war film, utilising state-of-the-art technology to make it even more intense than before. Check this one out.