Return to the "POINTER VIEW"
                         September 14, 2001

His Point: After months of waiting for the cinematic version of "Black Hawk Down," I finally got the chance to see it. I was not disappointed. This film is all action from beginning to end -- no implausible love stories, no boring depictions of Washington political agendas and no overdramatization of what actually happened. I could not believe the tension I felt as an audience member when the crew chief on the Rangers’ Black Hawk helicopter gave the men the one-minute warning as they flew in to execute the mission at the beginning. It seemed just like one of our airborne operations at Fort Bragg. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Alien", "Armageddon") and director Ridley Scott ("Hannibal," "Gladiator") wisely brought the Army on board in preparing the actors for the movie. The actors playing the Rangers and Delta Force commandos went to Fort Bragg and Fort Benning for a few weeks of instruction in close-quarters-battle and Ranger indoctrination to get a feel for how special operations soldiers think and fight. The training was well worth it -- I did not see one example of soldiers wearing their uniforms or equipment incorrectly, and the procedures for Military Operations in Urban Terrain were well-done. There is nothing more annoying to me than seeing a war movie with soldiers running around without helmets, or wearing Ranger tabs on their right sleeves.

Her Counterpoint: Believe me, I’ve heard more times than I care to count, the thoughtless equipment and uniform mistakes in all the movies over our past 10 years together. I believe Casey when he says they got it right in this film, because it just felt like it. Maybe it is just being around the military lifestyle that gives a gal the well-trained eye, but it seems like these actors just got the right training for their jobs. And what a job they did! From the first shot to the last, I was impressed with the authenticity. I was not looking forward to going to this film. There are so many out now to pick from, but it was Casey’s week to choose and I stuck him with "Kate and Leopold" last week. I am very glad to have witnessed this movie, both for the historical aspect and the phenomenal special effects and acting. Josh Hartnett is not hard on the eyes either.

His Point: There were two mistakes Scott made in the "Blackhawk Down" project: not enough background information, and he miscast the part of Capt. Mike Steele. By "background information," I am specifically referring to having some explanation of the differences between the Delta Force soldiers and the Rangers. If one had not read the book "Black Hawk Down," by Mark Bowden, it would be difficult to determine why there were two different forces on the ground, and why the Rangers did not always get along with the Delta guys. Scott tries to address the issue somewhat when Steele (Jason Isaacs) admonishes the Delta soldiers for their lack of discipline. This brings me to the second fault I noted: Jason Isaacs is way too small to play Steele. Since I worked directly for Steele for a year at Fort Bragg, I know that he is 6’3" tall and weighs 265 pounds. He went to three Sugar Bowls with the University of Georgia football team as an offensive guard, blocking for Herschel Walker in his numerous 1,000-yard seasons. Therefore, I thought it odd to cast a British actor -- who is only about my size -- to play Steele. In Isaacs’ need to cover his natural British accent, he also overplays Steele’s Georgia accent in the movie; in reality, now Lt. Col. Steele only has a slight hint of a southern accent. Isaacs did, however, do a good job of capturing Steele’s intensity. Perhaps I am just too prejudicial against Isaacs, though, since he played the evil British colonel in "The Patriot."

Her Counterpoint: To the lay person, it really doesn’t matter who is what group of fighters. This movie is fighting from beginning to end and who cares who is doing it? It pulled at my heart strings to see the fighting and the children with guns and all the death and famine. I thought it strange to see street vendors selling ammunition and firing it into the air between houses -- very weird, but I live in a civilized part of the world. What a screwed-up mission and why did Washington refuse to support our guys with tanks and heavy hitting stuff? The helicopter crash scenes looked so real, I believed they were actually happening. Very well done on the special effects and getting my heart rate up. As for Steele, I know him as well, and he is a big guy. I know his family and felt the screws turning in my heart as the story was unfolding, knowing it could be any of our husbands out there giving the orders and taking fire. Of course, they had to throw in lines to get the tear ducts flowing, like, "Tell my mom and dad I fought real hard today" right as the soldier dies. Yes, I cried and cried. But, it’s all too close to home for me.

His Point: I thought the best part of "Black Hawk Down" was the valiant firefight by Delta Force soldiers Sgt. 1st Class Randall Shughart and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon against hundreds of nasty Somalis. Their actions earned each of them the Medal of Honor, and the state-of-the-art MOUT training facility at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk is aptly named "Shughart-Gordon" in their memory. Seeing the heroics of the Delta Force and Rangers will make any soldier in our Army proud to wear the same uniform, and angry about the 18 dead and 78 wounded from the action in Mogadishu. Just one platoon of tanks would have changed the whole outcome of the battle. By the end of the film, I just wanted to see three squadrons of B-52s line up wingtip-to-wingtip and make Mogadishu into a parking lot. But there was no "payback," which perhaps is the whole point of the movie.

Her Counterpoint: I thought the best part of the movie was when the credits started to roll and I could steal away to blow my nose in private. It was intense and rough. That is war. It was sad and miserable to watch the human condition. It was exhilarating to watch our Army in action and their preparedness and purpose of mission. I was proud to be an American watching our guys do what they train to do every day. The movie was successful in showing the truth in what our men do. When I was in my early 20’s, I couldn’t tell what a military person did for a living. It is a whole different story being married to a military member and knowing all his friends and what they may have to do on any given day at a moment’s notice.

His Point: Sarah has little to worry about for awhile, though -- USMA’s instructors will not be fast-roping into combat anytime soon. Nevertheless, "Black Hawk Down" should be required viewing for every soldier and spouse in the Army. I have not seen a war movie this powerful since "Saving Private Ryan," and in many ways, I think it is better than "Ryan." With the exception of the two flaws I pointed out earlier, this film is perfect. I give it four and one half stars. ****½

Her Counterpoint: I am not sure why you don’t "jump big," Casey, and just award it the five stars it deserves? As for this being a powerful film, I agree. I think every American should see it and they should know its accuracy and that ill-informed bureaucratic decisions denied the much-needed support that would have prevented the deaths and injuries to so many Americans. That’s my two cents’ worth. "Black Hawk Down" ranks up with my five star movie choices; if I had to give only one reason, it is because the picture is one of the most realistic movies I’ve ever seen. *****