Black Hawk Down review

 Number 571 on the top 1000 films of all time is Ridley Scott's 2001 war film 'Black Hawk Down.'

Based on true events, Black Hawk Down is set during the Somalian civil war. A group of American soldiers are sent to extract the top lieutenants of the Somalian dictator Mohamed Farrah Aidad from the capital Mogadishu. But the extraction goes wrong and the soldiers are left fighting for their lives. The massive ensemble cast includes Josh Hartnett, Ewan Macgregor, Ewen Bremner, Eric Bana, Ioan Gruffard, Orlando Bloom and Tom Hardy.

The problem with war films is that the characters always look the same. It is so difficult to tell them apart. Obviously, that comes with the territory, but other films and directors have done a much better job in distinguishing them than Ridley Scott does. True, he did choose to write the character's names on their helmets, but it was still difficult to tell who was who. Part of that was down to the sprawling cast, but also a lack of a clear protagonist.

Josh Hartnett received star billing, so I guess he was the main character, but there were so many other characters with so many storylines that they were all overshadowed by one another. They were all fighting to be noticed, but they all failed dreadfully. And that led to an overlong, bloated film which lost narrative direction. At times, it seemed like Ridley completely forgot about some of his characters and plot points.

Orlando Bloom plays raw recruit Todd Blackburn who is desperate to start fighting. He is due to drop into the city, but when his helicopter has to dodge an RPG, he tumbles to the ground below. A massive effort is made to rescue him, but what happens after isn't focussed on at all. Another soldier Michael Durant (Ron Eldard) is captured by the Somalians. Yet we only find out through a line of exposition at the film's end that he was released after ten days. Hell, the whole point of the mission was to capture Aidad's lieutenants and bring them out safely. But even this central plot point was left by the wayside. Ridley Scott set up so many storylines, but he forgot to finish them satisfactorily.

Instead any storyline takes a backseat to the action. Due to the army's mantra of leaving no man behind, the soldiers aim to rescue every single one of their fallen comrades (except for Durant who was mostly forgotten about) this includes the troopers inside the Black Hawk helicopters which are downed by RPGs. Yet the rescue effort goes awry as the soldiers quickly find themselves overnumbered. Cue endless gunfights and explosions. The action is fast, frenetic and chaotic. It doesn't let you catch your breath, so you're left blankly watching the screen asking 'what the hell is going on?' Ridley Scott was obsessed in creating a spectacle, he forgot to include any story.

Black Hawk Down was also criticised for its portrayal of the Somalian population. I would echo this criticism. The Somalians were generic, two-dimensional villains with no depth or clear motivations. I'm sure if Ridley wasn't so concerned with the gunfights he could have created a memorable villain, but he didn't.

*Spoilers* the film ends with a group of a soldiers running to safety from the crash site to a safe zone - something that has retrospectively been called the Mogadishu mile. They all make it safely. I know this was based on real life, but I found it hard to believe that the Somalians allowed them to do this in peace.

It's hard to believe this is the same man who created Alien - a masterpiece of horror and science-fiction. But Black Hawk Down was certainly no masterpiece. It was an overlong, monotonous affair with too many characters and paper-thin villains.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty review

 Number 755 on the top 1000 films of all time is the adventure comedy-drama 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.'

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) works a tedious office job at Life magazine. To help escape the boredom, he zones out imagining fantastical scenarios. After Life Magazine is bought out, Walter's job is threatened unless he can track down a negative still sent to him by legendary photojournalist Sean O'Connell (Sean Pean.) Kristen Wiig stars as Mitty's colleague and love interest: Cheryl Hiloff.

What followed was a funny, charming and relatable tale. Who hasn't zoned out at work imagining a ridiculous scenario that would never happen in real life? Walter Mitty has even entered the cultural lexicon meaning to take flights of fantasy. Mitty was also a fun character who undergoes a true hero's journey. Stiller played him perfectly. He was pathetic enough to be a nerd, but not enough to be unlikeable. In many ways, he is an everyman working hard to please a corporate boss who couldn't give a damn about him.

And a quick shoutout to Adam Scott who plays Mitty's boss, Ted Hendricks. Scott excelled at playing the slimy, callous, corporate boss who couldn't give a damn about his employees. You could argue his ignorance about his staff or company was unrealistic, but I think it's a damning indictment of capitalist America. Hendricks' obvious disdain for Life magazine provided a lot of the film's humour.

And Mitty goes through a great hero's journey. Mitty starts as a bumbling, sadsack who is afraid of his own shadow. Despite having an eharmony profile, it is largely blank as he hasn't travelled anywhere or done anything. This is why it was so funny seeing him pushed to the edge of his comfort zone from jumping out of a helicopter into shark-infested waters to trying to outdrive an erupting volcano.

Walter Mitty's zoning out had every potential to become a repetitive gimmick, but it was used well. Although it happened a lot to start with, as Mitty becomes progressively more adventurous, they begin to reduce. Once an integral way for him to escape, he no longer needs them. This was a nice way to stop the trope from becoming overused.

I also enjoyed how the missing still was more than just a Macguffin. I thought that, while being the launching of Mitty's adventure, we the audience, would never get to see what the negative contains. However, it is vital that Mitty recovers it, as Hendricks wants to put it on the cover of the final edition of Life. At the end, it is revealed that it is a photo of Walter Mitty accompanied by the caption "Life, dedicated to those who made it." This was a heartwarming way to end the film.

If I were to criticise anything, it would be Walter and Cheryl's relationship. It is at the heart of the film, but I didn't like them getting together at the ending. This was too easy and obvious. Walter Mitty's journey and transformation from a meek-mannered man into somebody who is comfortable in himself is so important that it should be something he accomplishes by himself.

All in all, this was a thoroughly enjoyable film. It balances comedy and emotion with a great, lead performance by Stiller. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have a Walter Mitty of my own.