Black Hawk Down’s makers appear to have had their doubts about the public appetite for mere heroism, because they have set about providing a larger, uplifting rationale. (See it twice, actually-it takes repeat viewings to comprehend the rush of characters and events.)īut would Americans pay to see a film simply about bravery under fire, without a larger, heroic context? As Slate’s Inigo Thomas pointed out weeks ago, soldiers can be brave in the service of disastrous policies. It’s also a highly effective film, as vivid a fix as most of us are likely to get on what bravery and professionalism means in the modern U.S. You can’t blame the surviving Rangers for seeing the film of Bowden’s book, now in theaters, as an opportunity for vindication.
