Master Sgt. Norman Hooten (Eric Bana) retired after a 20-year career in the army, joining the federal Air Marshal Service and then working as a contractor overseas. After this, concerned by the high rate of opoid addictions and suicides among returning vets, he studied medicine. Dr. Hooten is a full-time medical specialist at the Orlando VA Medical Center, focusing on PTSD and other combat-related disorders, as well as drug abuse.
Dude, the character Hoot played by Eric Bana has Nothing to do with Norman Hooten. Hoot is NOT portraying Hooten on the movie.. In fact, Hoot is a fictional character added in the movie. .
20:45: Fun fact, the Little Bird pilot who jumps out is Army pilot Keith Jones (CW4). He is playing himself and is re-enacting his rescue of injured Delta operator Daniel Busche. Jones pulls Busch from the wreckage and gives Eversmann the update on the crash site. Jones received a Silver Star for his actions.
I have a friend who is former Army, he says those Little Bird pilots are amazingly helpful and skilled, and "can do" daredevils. "Land on the roof, pickup ammo, and drop it on your position? Aight, gimme a sec!" 😂🙌
"Being Brave isnt being not afraid but being scared shitless and doing it anyway" one of the best quotes that really captures what most of these men go through
As a veteran myself, I can say it captures what's happening in the USA with civilians today and our gun culture. Being brave is not supporting the gun industry that allows people who would do bad things to have easy and abundant access to guns. You might be scared of whatever made up scenario you have of being robbed, but that's what being brave is all about.
@@Nick-oh6ms Exactly. A real man does the right thing and accepts the risk on himself instead of taking the coward way to save himself and put others at risk. Owning guns puts others at risk to save yourself. Owning guns is the coward's way.
@@websurvivor no, cowards (like you) blame the tool and not the evil people that use it the wrong way. I own, I train, I carry, I don't lie about the problem, like you do.
The soldiers that had to run on foot behind the convoy ran nearly 2 miles under constant enemy fire after 18hrs of hard fighting. This came to be known as the “Mogadishu Mile” (even tho in reality it was well over a mile)
21:05 When the first bird crashed down the pilot, Nightstalker Cliff Walcott, who had a reputation a mile wild for what he did in the gulf, had actually angled the nose of the bird down to sacrifice himself and the copilot to try and save the passengers, which was successful
They had some of the actual fighters as consultants for the battle to make it as accurate as they could. The cast and crew were even given a gift that was signed by the actual men as well as a message that said simply "tell our story" written on it
From what I understand, the actors all had a letter slipped under their doors, asking them to tell their story. The letter was signed by the 19 Americans who died in the battle.
This hurts me... as an English veteran, i'm currently going through the same thing... though, from the sounds of it. I've gotten further with mine because i'm in correspondence with the M.O.D currently
More so than the President, the White Boys of Arkansas referred to his, and to an extent, Hillary's selection of inexperienced political appointees. It's fair to say that following 12 years of Reagan/Bush along with the collapse of the USSR, Clinton's national security council had a fundamental different vision of the US role in global security. However, in the nine months between Clinton's inauguration and the Black Hawk incident, the national security council and civilian DOD leadership substantively changed the US mission in Somalia while withholding key weapon platforms and restrictive rules of engagement to avoid the optics of the US as an invasion force.
@@ThorWildBoarYou think the First Lady had anything to do with the selection of military officers. SMH the number right-wing media did on Americans common sense. Going beyond the talk radio sound bites, in reality what you saw with Somalia, and it had begun with HW Bush with Panama and Gulf War 1, was the rise of the Neoconservative movement in the US government and military & MIC, that would reach its peak with W Bush’s dual disastrous “nation-building” wars of choice in Iraq and Afghanistan. That’s what was happening here. Clinton just didn’t have the stones to stop it in its tracks and save the ensuing 30k+ American boys and 200k+ civilians.
Fun fact in the beginning when its talking about the 160th S.O.A.R: SOAR stands for Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and they are pilots specifically for special forces. One of their many nicknames are "the nightstalkers" (when the two pilots are arguing about scrabble, one says "touch my limo and I'll spank you nightstalker") because on average they have more "flight hours" at night than most helicopter pilots get during the daytime. They are the best of the best when it comes to helicopter pilots, their job is to take the deadliest men on the planet to and from battle. They regularly fly at night using night vision, for a frame of reference: imagine flying a helicopter that's 60ft long and roughly 70ft wide in pitch black night, and your field of view through your night vision is like looking through two bathroom tissue rolls in front of your eyes. Those guys are truly a different breed of human.
My Brother still to this day has a memorial bracelet he never takes off, ever. On it is the name of CWO Donovan Briley. He was the Copilot of the first Blackhawk (Cliff Wolcott was the pilot). My brother and he were friends and next door neighbor in off base housing. Brother was with the 101st at Ft Campbell, where the 160th is also based.
This is one of my favorite war films. It doesn’t glorify war at all, and also doesn’t pull many punches in terms of graphic realism. It also respects the men who were over fighting over there back in ‘93. And the cast is top tier and the acting is really good
Ridley Scott got his back-to-back Best Director Oscar nomination for this movie after Gladiator. It was really well deserved because this film is a technical masterpiece to put together.
That line from Atto, "Don't make the mistake of thinking because I grew up without running water, I am simple, general." That was brilliant script writing.
"Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction, which no man can imagine..." - Gen. Carl von Clausewitz
Fucking A dude wasnt wrong! thanks for putting this quote here made me research this along with his other stuff. dude was dead on, with his quotes! especially the Fog of war one
From what I have found out they initially weren’t going to be able to get Blackhawk’s but in the end the DOD came to an agreement with them and provided the aircraft and aircrew when needed. It made the movie better for sure.
@@bornepatrol However, there are a few scenes where it's clear the filmmakers used Hueys when Blackhawks weren't available. The shots from overhead while the informant is talking to the JOC from his car, for example.
Shugart and Gordon exemplify with the true meaning of being an infantryman and a Ranger. There is footage of what happened to them. May they forever rest in peace.
It’s just shows how powerful this movie is even after 22 years that people still cry or feel really overwhelmed. I’ve watched this film like a dozen of times and it still overwhelms me to this day. Black Hawk Down has to be one of the greatest modern day war movie and one awesome thing is almost half of the cast you see are now big name stars. Tom Hardy(Mad Max:Fury and the dark knight:Rises),Nikolaj Coster-Waldau(game of thrones),Ty Burrell(Modern Family),Eric Bana(Hulk),Orlando Bloom(Lord of the rings) and many more all started their career with with Black Hawk Down
Ironically, I will never forget one of negative critiques of the film: The reviewer said it was hard to get engaged in the characters because all the frontline soldiers looked the same. Sure, when the movie came out, most of the younger cast were unknowns but I had no problem distinguishing them. And _now,_ decades later, it seems almost a preposterous thought given how many of them became household names. Aside from reviews calling Star Wars a “forgettable Flash Gordon in a pan” and Empire Strikes Back “one of the worst sequels ever made”, that criticism of Black Hawk Down has stuck with me as one of most poorly-aged reviews I’ve ever encountered.
@@AngeloBarovierSD still remember that review and still remember another one making a comparison between Black Hawk Down and We were soldiers saying about how BHD don’t make the viewers engaged with the characters. Don’t remember which but I read it somewhere but love both films in their own ways however prefer black Hawk down slightly more
"C2 Shughart and Gordon are on the deck." Those two men are my heroes. I was reading that there was about 7 stray dogs on set and were all adopted afterwards.
I heard a super fucked up thing about the scene where the pilot Durant is taken captive. 29:05 We're shown him get hit in the head by a rifle and then beaten further before that one dude steps in and stops them. I listened to a podcast with Durant and he said that it wasn't a rifle that hit him, it was a severed limb of one of the Delta Snipers who had come to rescue him. The Somalis literally tore them apart after they killed them.
At least some of that crew was badly mangled, and not all of them were recovered. There are books written by 10th Mountain soldiers who talk about this. They said how often enemies were captured and torn to bits by the mob. It wasn't just in Mogadishu but other towns as well. It is interesting to note that many Somalis were also disgusted by this, referring to the class that did this in unflattering terms. Durant was first captured by a group of fighter hoping to sell or trade him, most likely. However, Aidid's men ended up with him and he was taken to a place and given minimal care but also protection until he was released.
@@Thane36425I'd have to dig my book out, but Durant actually spoke highly of the guy that was trying to render aid to him after he was moved for the second time. Can't recall his name. They allowed him to have a bible that he was chronicling his capitivity in, and this guy thought that he was just very religious and making personal notations in scripture.
@@JackmG87 That's right. He seemed to have been taken by freelancers or another militia group, then was taken by Aidid's men. Aidid's minder looked after Durant for the duration. What's really odd is that the main resuce convoy seemed to have passed very close to where Durant was first being held, close enough that Durant was worried for his safety.
The mutilation of the crew was in other sources, not the Bowden book. One of the others mentions it and it was recounted elsewhere. There is some validity to this. Some of the Pakistanis who were ambushed and killed were mutilated. It was also not uncommon for this to happen in the regular intertribal fighting either. I think it was the book by a 10th Mountain officer "Somalia on 5 Cents a Day" or something like that, where accounts of that fighting related how captives were sometimes torn apart by rival groups. The accounts often had the Somalis themselves putting this on the "lower class" people and some of the educated, middle/upper class people seemed ashamed at this behavior.
When I first joined in 99, I served with guys who were in this and several other incidents in Mog. In 2003, I went on my first tour to Iraq, on the invasion. And over the last 24 years, I’ve had 6 deployments. This movie is the most accurate, current era, firefight movie I’ve seen. This is what my experiences were like.
A few of my buddies were part of the Marine air contingent in '92-93. My first deployment was to Okinawa in '93 and we heard Africa had stuff going on but no idea about this. I went back to Oki in '94 for a SPMAGTF which went to Somalia specifically to gather and transport the U.N. armor and construction equipment. The entire time we were wondering what the hell happened that had the locals against Americans specifically, but the U.N. turds kept saying it was the Army that pissed them off. When this book came out, it spread like wildfire. We were like "ooooooh, ok. THAT'S why they hate us." Yeah. Sucks to be them.
@@crewchief5144 in the book is one of those panoramic photos, like in high school class photos. My squad leader at the time had been in that fight, and had a copy of the real photo, which included the Delta guys, who were cropped out for the book (OPSEC).
I was in the Army when this movie hit theaters. I left the theater with all kinds of emotions. BHD is raw and heartbreaking, but it shows the potential reality of serving in the military. I enjoy your reactions immensely. Keep up the good work 🙂
I was in the Army when these events took place. Me and another sergeant were considering volunteering for this mission when this took place. Reporting at the time was limited. It seemed at the time we were being crapped on for helping them, and so we nixed that. In retrospect, it was a lot more complex. When I learned the full story when the book came out, I regretted not volunteering.
Blackhawk Down and We were Soldiers were the two movies that made me join the U.S. Army Infantry. Both movies came out a few months after 9-11, and in 2002 I graduated the Infantry school...I was deployed to Ramadi Iraq 03-04. I just realized that 20 years ago today, I was somewhere in Ramadi.
Josh Hartnett Ewan McGregor Tom Sizemore (R.i.P.) Eric Bana William Fichtner Sam Shepard (R.i.P.) Kim Coates Jason Isaacs Nikolaj Coster-Walder Tom Hardy Orlando Bloom Ty Burrell etc. The Castlist and Direction of Ridley Scott is just insane. Probably his most underrated Movie.
I served with the 10th Mtn unit that actually went in at the end to save the soldiers that were stranded (not at the time of this but afterwards). Every year we do a run called the Mogadishu Mile where we run the distance that they ran to get out of the city. During these runs veterans from that battle actually join us in commemoration of what happened that day. I had a chance to speak with one of them, I don't remember who, but he said that while this movie was changed for Hollywood the spirit of what happened was very much intact and the changes weren't nearly as much as many other retellings of historical events. I agree with your assessment that this movie is visceral, that is a great word for it. War is visceral and if this movie can share that sensation I think that's a good thing.
I usually don't like reaction videos but the way you show compassion and seem to have a kind heart makes your videos enjoyable to watch! Thanks and keep it going.
I was stationed at The Pentagon as a Marine and one of the most hallowed areas is the heroes wall where you can read all the names of those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. This happened while I was there and for a while they had the two large pictures on display of the 2 Special Operations soldiers that died fighting off the attackers at crash site 2. It was always a quiet place even during the day but at night, it was surreal. Nothing but respect from one combat veteran to another.
This film is amazing. It's one of those that i can't believe it managed to be filmed. So much action; so many incredible shots and scenes. I admire how it tells the whole situations from a strategic point of view, showing not only the multiple infantry perspectives, but the ones from the helicopters and the command. It really builds all of them as protagonists. And of course, it also make you feel empathy for a lot of the different individuals and their relationships with each other. It's like a mini Band of Brothers, where you finish up caring for a lot of them. For me, best war film. It really shows a battle with the sufficient complexity it should be shown, and even with its emotional narrative. (Some films only manage to show one of this two: the strategic complexity, but not the emotion; or the emotion, but not the complexity.)
There is a LOT to unpack from this film. First of all, the two Delta guys that dropped in at the end and died, posthumously recognised for their bravery, are 100% legends. Just about the most selfless act I have ever heard of, and as someone that not only grew up in the army as a brat, but then went on to serve myself, that is very significant and I have met and worked with some incredible people that did unbelievable things and were similarly decorated. I encourage everyone to watch the behind the scenes/making of, videos that exist. This to me is the best one: ua-cam.com/video/Uj15a4qFoqc/v-deo.htmlsi=jG8XB7JkPNcpJ4XS The actors talking about the bootcamp that they went on is very enlightening, particularly the actors that spent time with Delta, but the most poignant thing is what happened at the end of it. As one of the actors tells it - “On the last day of boot camp, we all got an anonymous letter pushed under our door. It thanked us for our hard work and asked us to ‘tell our story true’ and it was signed from all the boys who died.”
What the movie doesn't show was why they were fighting from inside the helicopter. At least one of the other crew members were still alive and they were defending them as well.
Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart are legends in their own right, and their names command respect in many circles. It's a tragedy that the raid turned out how it did, we lot a lot of good people that day.
20:46 The other Delta sniper suffered a dislocated shoulder during the crash, so Dan Busch essentially had to single-handedly hold crash site 1 until the Rangers and Delta arrived on foot. Though he was evacuated on the Little Bird helicopter, he didn't survive his wounds which included a gut shot below the front plate of his body armor. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Sir Ridley Scott is a very competent director. He has proven it time and time again with films such as Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven (Director’s Cut only) and so many others.
I fly helicopters for the Army, it takes a long time to get good at and even then there is still room for improvement. The pilots depicted are 160th SOAR, which is an even greater skill level.
First time watching. Love your reaction. This film never gets old to me. As someone stationed at Benning 3rd batt 75th rangers, its cool to know the history of what my fellow vets went through. A+ and 👍👍
Watching this movie as a boy is what made me want to sign up for the military. Also, interestingly enough, the events in the movie Hotel Rwanda is what happened right after. The events depicted in this movie are what causes the international response in that movie.
As a Dutch former Marine, "07-"11 trained in Air Maneuvre Combat (basically, Heli Insertion) who did 1x Afghanistan, Uruzgan, this hits somewhat home. It's an outstanding movie based on a FUBAR mission. The odds the American brothers faced here was FUBAR. They held their own amazingly. A must-see movie indeed.
I first seen this movie when I was in high school, it is still in my top five “it’s what you do right NOW, that makes a difference” that line is still with me to this day.
I was part of the mop-up MAGTF that went in to get the U.N. equipment in '94 but didn't know crap about this incident until the book came out. The timing of this movie, post 9/11 was immensely helpful to the recruiting effort and that was a full year before the invasion of Iraq. I knew several kids that joined specifically because of the camaraderie displayed in this film. Ridley Scott did a great job capturing it and even with his Aussie accent slipping in here and there, Eric Bana delivered some of the best lines that are a summation of what I heard during my 23 years in the Marine Corps. "It's about the men next to you." Some people get it, but until you've been on a defensive line and literally looked over and shared a silent smile with the guy next to you before or during an attack, it's just not quite the same.
Hi Aimee. Literally one of your best reviews. Your emotions & tears were genuine and it's much appreciated. I'm a veteran, my unit was in the middle east at an undisclosed comm center. We were in communication with the JOC in Mogadishu that day/night. We had the ability to transmit/forward requests for assistance to the Pentagon. Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense denied any military assistance and ordered Senior military officials to cease all communication with the men under fire in Somalia. We had over 10,000 troops, tanks, & dozens of combat aircraft only a few hours away. My 2 senior officers were demanding & begging for the order to provide immediate aid. The reply from the Pentagon was: "Cease and desist, power down your transmitters, STAND DOWN". They were threatened with court martial if they did not comply. We had to sit there all night listening to them beg for help while their buddies died. It was the lowest point of my 23 years of service. I can't describe how angry I was at everyone responsible for allowing this to happen. Some people may disagree with me. That's the difference between a President like Reagan & Trump and Clinton & Biden.
I'll never forget the first time I watched this. I was beyond stressed through the entire movie and that night I had nightmares all night about it. The bravery our soldiers display in horrific times surrounded by bloodshed and death is mind boggling to say the least. May the fallen rest sweetly now.
I just know this from buddies that fought in the WoT and from other youtube channels. You stay away from the walls, not necessarily because of an RPG hit, but because all of those building are brick, stone, or clay some some kind so if a bullet hits the building at an angle it is very likely to simply travel down the wall so if you're standing right against it you'll end up getting hit by a ricochet. Mike Durant did an interview and talked about how some time prior to this mission a Nigerian UN Base was captured by the Somalis and they tortured everyone they captured to death. In Mike's words, "If they would do that to their fellow Africans, what would they do to a white American?" Also, he wasn't hit by a gun's buttstock in real life, it was one of his comrades severed arms. They literally tore them to pieces. The women were actually known to be particularly brutal because there was a cultural expectation to take vengeance is someone killed your husband so dead or captured soldiers were one of the only ways to really take out their aggression. The two Delta Snipers knew what they were asking. They knew their odds were terrible. Bravery is an understatement. It's one thing to risk your life when you IN the crap. It's another thing to be safely above the crap, ask to go in, get denied multiple times, and continue to ask to go in, knowing you're going to die.
Did you see the Shawn Ryan podcast with Tom Sutterly where he talked about Randy Shugarts wife not using trashbags anymore cause apparently they recovered parts of his body in black trashbags. I still tear up thinking about her.
@@slopcrusher3482He mentions one of the wives but not by name. He also said that in the trash bags they put the remains that he thought were Gordon, Shugart, Cleveland and some others. But I have also read about how Shugart's wife (that also is a nurse) was told to not go to identified Randy's body herself, so she sent a brother, and the brother told her that the body was intact but the face was totally smashed until made unrecognizable, he identified him for the intact body, so he wasn't torn apart or in the trash bags....
That's why we do MOUT training. MOUT stands for Military Operations in Urban Terrain. I was also in Ramadi in 2004. It was my first deployment as a 19 year old Infantry Rifleman in the US Marines.
I served in the Marine Corps infantry, and got out of the military in May 1992 (as a Desert Shield/Storm/Stay veteran). I went to see this movie in theatre when it came out. I was with my girlfriend Erin at the time. She kind of pushed me to see it with her. I was still in my seat after the lights came on, and everyone but us two left. I couldn't stop crying. She couldn't understand why I was in tears. She dumped me two weeks later for a college baseball player.
29:34 Air Force Pararescueman Tim Wilkerson is barely seen in the movie, but he was awarded the Air Force Cross for repeatedly risking his life to provide medical care to wounded Rangers. This included a 45 meter run back and forth between two buildings to retrieve critically needed medical supplies while under intense gunfire. Seeing him miraculously survive this run, one Ranger said "God must really love medics!", and others joked that the Somalis kept missing Wilkerson because he was such a ridiculously slow runner that they were firing too far in front of him.
at the start of the movie the chalk leader says "we're rangers, not some sorry ass JROTC" ROTC : Reserve Office Training Corps - Military training for college students to train them to become officers while they attend college. So when they graduate college they are 2nd Lieutenants JROTC : Junior ......- a high school course for people interested in attending ROTC when they get to college. You dont get anything upon graduation, its more of just a "get a demo of the ROTC experience" so he basically says they are not high school students playing pretend, they are well trained soldiers who know what they are doing.
I was watching the news as this was happening. I was horrified as I saw Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart’s bodies dragged out and violated by the rampaging mob on the news broadcast. I dreaded the moment in the film when this scene was about to take place. The film was not as disturbingly graphic as that news broadcast. I still cry whenever I watch this masterpiece.
Lol what??? Somali erupted into violence on its own. It’s literally the only justified conflict since WW2, with the first Gulf War being questionable. It was literally genocide, with attacks happening on peace keeping forces. Let me guess, you’re the type of guy who says we shouldn’t have stepped in and saved South Korea after the North invaded?
I clearly remember those 2 Delta Force Operators being paraded naked and hanged shown in International news when I was a kid. They're real heroes laying down their lives for others.
Fun fact, the Rangers in Mogadishu didnt Ditch their backplates, they never had them to begin with, their Body armor vests only had a pocket for front plates, no pocket for rear plates, the vests they use in the movie are the 2nd version of the vests that had back plate pockets added specifically because of the events of Mogadishu.
13:58 you're right. For example, Keith Jones the pilot of the little bird, which is evacuating Daniel Busch at crashside 1 did the same thing in 1993. But it was a narrow street and he had no idea if the helicopter would fly out, because the rotor blades scratched the walls by the landing. He made it out. That's an example, how good the pilots of the 160th s.o.a.r. are. Btw he was send to the filming by the army. He was asked, if he would portrait himself and he did.
@@holddowna here I aome more info about the Somalia disaster.. United States navy had a expidionary force right off the coast with 10000 marines able to deploy immediately. There were ac130 gunships available with 3 hours... This was all denied by the Clinton administraion... 10 years late Secretary of state Hillary Clinton refuse air assets that were within 2 hours for the Bengazi *embassy attack costing 13 American lives.. Wr now have 5000 troops in Niger being in same situation now. Remember MEN ARE DISPOSABLE and Not Needed...
It is so refreshing to see someone with a physical collection of film media behind them. This was the first video I just found from your channel and right off the bat, I could see you're genuine with your reactions. I subscribed and look forward to many more great videos and reactions. Many thanks. 🎬👍
@ 30:59. Lorenzo Ruiz is from my home town of El Paso! They named a street after him here as well. Every time I drive by the area I always remember his sacrifice and his resilience. Dude worked a whole shift with a hole in his chest. Gold standard! RIP!
My dad served in the Marines in the Middle East. When he was deployed, I got into watching war movies. It was sort of a way to connect with him while he was gone. I've seen most of the war movies from the 80s onward. For some reason though, despite all of the violent and sometimes graphic war movies I watched, this is the one that gave me huge amounts of anxiety for a while after I watched it. I was a wreck for a while. This is a great movie, in my opinion. And the cast is absolutely amazing to me. Not only the big-name actors, but even the supporting cast are almost all actors that I recognize from other roles, even if I don't know their names. I don't think there's a single person with a speaking line that I can't name at least one other movie or show they were in. While this may not be the "best" war movie in terms of popular opinion, it may be my favorite one. I'm glad you decided to react to it. Hope you're having a good weekend! ✌🤓
@@davecrupel2817 My dad doesn't watch war movies. He's fine with silly action movies where one guy fights an entire army or something, but he won't watch actual war movies. The only one he ever watched with me was "Saving Private Ryan," and he sat there silently through the whole thing, like a statue. I haven't asked him to watch another one with me since. I get it. I guess maybe war movies aren't so exciting and dramatic if you've lived through something similar. I don't watch movies featuring things that caused me trauma. It makes sense other people might feel the same. ✌🤓
@@BubblyRainbows I'm genuinely surprised he sat through saving private ryan. And i completely understand that. Give him my thanks for his service when you can.
"..so many doors, windows, rooftops..so you dont even- OH FUCK- you just dont know where anyone is gonna pop out!!!" That made shoot cherry pepsi through my nose 😅
When this movie came out, the survivors of Operation Gothic Serpent (what the movie is based on) commented that the movie followed what actually happened on so many points it was unreal. Alot of the dialog and character portrayals were as close to what was actually said, and how they actually behaved during the operation. Example is Mcnight being fearless. He actually acted that way to inspire his men. Or the "what you do now" speech when convoy returned to base, that was actually spoken by the guy.
Great reacting and commentary, young woman. It was a tough watch and you handled it well. You are a great mix of toughness blended with a lovely soft heart and soul. Thank you for being so perceptive and understanding. You are one of my favourite commentators. Keep up the good work. Cheers from Australia. 🇦🇺
So many wars and conflicts seem so unnecessary and avoidable, but at the same time they seem so necessary and unavoidable. If you step in you're in the wrong and if you don't step in you're in the wrong. All I know is I'm thankful for all those that have served, past present and future.
It seems to me like what is happening in haiti now could be compared to somalia. But i don't thjnk there is any appetite for intervention now. Somalia is probably why we didn't intervene in rwanda.
@@qbasicmichael you get criticised either way, usually by the same people. It doesn't make sense and is why no one knows what the right thing to do is. And then there's the problem of who exactly stands to benefit from it, it's always the wrong people who end up suffering.
It's not the best structure for the story but Mike Durant was on Jocko Podcast 312. Turns out if you're a special forces pilot you got some badass stories :)
What a great review. I appreciate your personal investment in the subject matter and your immersion into the film. AND the debrief at the end. Really well thought out format. I’ll be watching more of your videos.
Tom Sizemore was an incredible actor!! He did a lot more than soldier roles. I highly recommend True Romance!!!! Amazing movie, written by Tarantino!! Directed by Ridley Scott’s brother!! There’s a scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper that is beyond amazing!!!
Gotta say, I LOVED ur reaction on this! U looked like u were in a hot zone, the whole time! Specially when the guys driving, gets an RPG, smashed glass, colonels neck got shot, and u shout out, "wtf is going on?". It looked like u were lookin for cover, most of the time!
As disgusting and disturbing as the act was, at the same time you gotta keep in mind the frustration and struggles of the Somali people at the time. When the US airstrike killed many of their elders, they felt the US had basically eliminated any hope of peace.
That has nothing to do with parading a dead body through a mob@@afroartist1086 It takes a level of sociopathy and primitive immaturity to gloat over a dead body, not to mention picking it up and dragging it around while actually celebrating, dancing and yelling about it. These were not a people with any concept of peace, let alone hope.
@@afroartist1086 There wasn't gonna be a chance at peace even before that. The warlords wouldn't allow it because they'd be giving up their power, and they'd amassed quite a lot of it during that time. That doesn't excuse them acting like barbarians with the bodies of the men at the super 64 crash site at all.
Only criticism I have of the film is the down play of the Pakistani and Malaysian forces that went out in the armored convoy. Pakistanis had 1 killed 10 missing (likely dead) 30 wounded. And Malaysian had one killed multiple wounded, all while defending the crash sites while the long process to cut out the dead pilots went on. The film just makes it seem like they drove there and drove back and didn't fight, when they DID. And that they were rude forcing the Rangers to walk when it was the Rangers decision to do so.
It was never shown in the movie but Goffena had 62 orbit around 64 to cover Shugart and Gordon to give them time so they can drag the crew to Star 41 who were waiting for them. Eventually, Star 41 had to go because they were running out of fuel and Shuhart and Gordon were unable to move all the crew in the first place who all had survived the crash but severely injured. 20 minutes later Goffena's chopper took an RPG to the cockpit, knocking out the windshield and blowing apart the right side of the chopper, taking out the number 2 engine which also knocked out the co-pilot and amputated the door gunner's leg. Goffena was miraculously able to limp back to the direction of the airfield before conducting a controlled crash landing in the dock areas. All the crew survived. Shugart and Gordon defended 64 for two hours before being killed in action. The crowd soon descended upon 64's wounded crew, killing all but Durant.
Just to add some context to the final scene where they finally return to base, that crowd was cheering for the soldiers. Most people in the country hated Aidid, and so they were happy to see the UN fight against him and his militia.
A friend of mine I met while at Fort Drum, James Martin, from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, was lost that day. He was a brave guy who was lost way too soon. Every soldier who serves deserves way more than is received.
Just discovered your channel and subbed. Great job! I also watched your Forrest Gump reaction, also a great vid! You should for sure watch The Shawshank Redemption, it my all time favorite and I just went and toured the filming locations. Take care!
There's bravery, and there's Gordon and Shugart. It's hard to fathom such selfless sacrifice. They knew what they were doing and were ready for glory. First Medal of Honors after Vietnam, and they were beyond well deserved. There are no words other than "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
Hello, it's the first video I've seen of you and I'm amazed at the intensity with which you experience a movie. You are incredible, of course I am already subscribed and I will continue to like your reactions. ❤❤❤
19:33 - You comment that it's so stressful because of all the doors, windows, rooftops, etc. I remember when I first deployed as an infantryman in Samarra, Iraq, that sentiment you expressed had a physical manifestation for me. At the end of the day (two missions a day that included a walking "presence patrol") I still remember my eyeballs and what felt like my _brain_ feeling absolutely exhausted, every single day. Never in my life in any other context have I needed to move my eyes that much (scanning EVERYTHING, EVERYBODY), and process that much information. Every vehicle parked or moving (is it overloaded? sagging? how many people inside? descriptions? anything unusual or suspicious?), every person standing or moving (hands? weapons? hiding anything? eye contact? description? how many? are they communicating with anybody? are they watching?), doorways/windows/rooftops/shadows/corners/everything.... It legitimately was its own kind of exhaustion that wasn't my tired legs, my aching back, my cardio. And even once you're used to it, the challenge became not being complacent with the sheer amount of information you have to see and assess every single day, every single mission. Trying to remember to treat everything with equal potential despite the quiet days. That particular deployment was the hardest and most dangerous one I had. 15 months of intensity. They blockaded roads and burned tires and trash just like you see in this movie. Countless firefights, ambushes conducted and hit by, deaths and wounded given and taken, and nearly everything/anything you can imagine in the context of combat. Hell, even a Silver Star in my platoon. Anyway.
Oof. I can only imagine what that’s like. The closest I ever came were two plainclothes security gigs, one with a VIP ex-politician and the other with a movie star when a credible threat was communicated. The first was tense but we had UC and uniformed LEOs (and I’m sure special agents from two countries though I was never told) all around. Spent the night expecting to be caught in the middle of a terrorist attack. … but the second incident is the one you reminded me of. All we had to do was get the movie star from the restaurant to her hotel on foot (it was a film fest and the streets were crammed with people, so no cars). We had a couple of big guys doing CPP but my management and her top guard recruited me. Something like: “You’re smart, you have good eyes, so you’re lead-left.” It had to be no more than 300m from door to door but I’ve never been so hyper-aware in my life. Like you said, eyes scanning, brain on fire, heart racing. And this was in Toronto, Canada, surrounded by “friendlies”, only on guard for one individual who probably wasn’t even armed. Yet I can recall the whole short journey in alarming detail. My skinny butt in a black suit, no weapons, and no training for actual CPP was, uh, well it wasn’t how I thought the night was gonna go. I think about that and then what it must have been like, ramped up in intensity and in actual danger, longer distances, and repeated patrols, in an actual war zone. I’m not sure my brain can process that level of heightened awareness and stress. War is hell. Glad you made it home. Hope you’re well.
@@AngeloBarovierSD Great comment with your experience as well. I've always considered that there's a different kind of exhaustion in a scenario like yours, specifically _because_ of the "surrounded by friendlies" context. It's almost the exact opposite intersection of my experience, tbh. You're trying not to miss the needle in the haystack (and you're protecting someone), and I'm trying to determine which potential danger is more dangerous to _me_ or _us,_ since we're all a target. I've always said that I feel like it would somehow be scarier or more stressful to have what I refer to as 'a career in conflict' when the context _isn't_ war. At least on deployment, it's kind of a bubble, a different lens, and you can sort of put your game face on for the duration of the deployment and put your brain in a different kind of box. As opposed to when you already live around the regular city with the regular hustle and bustle and have to do that work... Having to put your game face on in the same kind of places that you buy groceries in your sweatpants seems like it could be more emotionally weary. Anyway. I'm still here. Cheers, man. Glad those days went without a hitch for you.
I love that line, 'I trained to make a difference" I trained to make a difference too, sometimes that was fighting, other times it was helping, even helping the enemy. I loved and miss being a combat medic.
What was not mentioned in the movie is how actually diverse the Rescue operation was, Italians, French, Malaysians, Pakistanis and other nations on peacekeeping in Somalia at the time went to the rescue of the fallen Americans.
Army brat here living near an army base when this movie came out, and I still remember the way people talked about it. So many active duty went to see it in droves. Mistakes were made on that op that were highlighted, and they were watching it partially as a training video. That mission changed a few rules and procedures, though I don't remember what they were anymore.
The two Delta guys that landed at the second helicopter crash were both awarded the Medal of Honor they’re some of them most badass operators to serve our country, Delta force really are the best of the best
"Roger that. We know what we're getting into." MSG Gary Gordon & SFC Randy Shughart earned their Medal of Honor. Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his brother
The book of the same name is worth reading. They basically cut every non-American point of view to shorten the story down to film length, so the book has a lot of missing context for what's happening.
Read about Durant's later admission of the rifle butt scene that broke his face. It was an arm ripped off of one of the guys. At the time didn't want to let it be known to the family...
Master Sgt. Norman Hooten (Eric Bana) retired after a 20-year career in the army, joining the federal Air Marshal Service and then working as a contractor overseas. After this, concerned by the high rate of opoid addictions and suicides among returning vets, he studied medicine. Dr. Hooten is a full-time medical specialist at the Orlando VA Medical Center, focusing on PTSD and other combat-related disorders, as well as drug abuse.
That is a really impressive and inspiring career.
Wow, quite a career. He is absolutely an outstanding patriot.
Dude, the character Hoot played by Eric Bana has Nothing to do with Norman Hooten.
Hoot is NOT portraying Hooten on the movie..
In fact, Hoot is a fictional character added in the movie.
.
except Hooten has talked about the movie multiple times lmao @@ShrekJo-we2st
I thought he was a pharmacist.
20:45: Fun fact, the Little Bird pilot who jumps out is Army pilot Keith Jones (CW4). He is playing himself and is re-enacting his rescue of injured Delta operator Daniel Busche. Jones pulls Busch from the wreckage and gives Eversmann the update on the crash site. Jones received a Silver Star for his actions.
I have a friend who is former Army, he says those Little Bird pilots are amazingly helpful and skilled, and "can do" daredevils.
"Land on the roof, pickup ammo, and drop it on your position? Aight, gimme a sec!" 😂🙌
That was Jones?!?! The legend himself doing that?!!!
I dont even know what to say!
Wow I had no idea about this
Kieth Jones deserved the MOH
@@bjjace1jumped out and did some crowd control himself I heard 💥
"Being Brave isnt being not afraid but being scared shitless and doing it anyway" one of the best quotes that really captures what most of these men go through
As a veteran myself, I can say it captures what's happening in the USA with civilians today and our gun culture. Being brave is not supporting the gun industry that allows people who would do bad things to have easy and abundant access to guns. You might be scared of whatever made up scenario you have of being robbed, but that's what being brave is all about.
@@websurvivor im aware im in the military myself and nor am I scared about being robbed i got guns myself and thats why I carry
@@Nick-oh6ms Exactly. A real man does the right thing and accepts the risk on himself instead of taking the coward way to save himself and put others at risk. Owning guns puts others at risk to save yourself. Owning guns is the coward's way.
@@websurvivor no, cowards (like you) blame the tool and not the evil people that use it the wrong way. I own, I train, I carry, I don't lie about the problem, like you do.
You are explaining this to a woman...
The soldiers that had to run on foot behind the convoy ran nearly 2 miles under constant enemy fire after 18hrs of hard fighting. This came to be known as the “Mogadishu Mile” (even tho in reality it was well over a mile)
Nuts!
Provide credible source before you go on making such claims 😶
@@G3000look it up yourself it’s a well known fact. Ask any ranger or delta operator that was there.
@@ghostgr43 yeah. You go do that too & you will see why I've replied that to him
Thats why we run 2 mile on PT test.
21:05 When the first bird crashed down the pilot, Nightstalker Cliff Walcott, who had a reputation a mile wild for what he did in the gulf, had actually angled the nose of the bird down to sacrifice himself and the copilot to try and save the passengers, which was successful
Wow!
Can you tell me about what he did to earn that reputation, or link something that does?
@@Gruvmpyhe fly the Panama Dictators, Manuel Noriega to US at 1989 Op Just Cause
"We sleep safe in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm."
-- George Orwell
Good men sleep soundly in their beds at night, because rough men are willing to do violence on their behalf.
At least get the quote right...
They had some of the actual fighters as consultants for the battle to make it as accurate as they could. The cast and crew were even given a gift that was signed by the actual men as well as a message that said simply "tell our story" written on it
Thats cool I love when they do that!
I feel like that's a bit of an understatement.
From what I understand, the actors all had a letter slipped under their doors, asking them to tell their story. The letter was signed by the 19 Americans who died in the battle.
"What that sound would do to your eardrums would be crazy"
The VA has determined that your hearing loss is not service related.
Isn’t that crazy for just 10 percent too lol
The VA has determined that your hearing loss is not service related....... damn that hits hard and funny all at the same time
This hurts me... as an English veteran, i'm currently going through the same thing... though, from the sounds of it. I've gotten further with mine because i'm in correspondence with the M.O.D currently
"Oh, I must've had guns shot in my ear at home."
"Arkansas white boys" is a reference to then-President Bill Clinton.
More so than the President, the White Boys of Arkansas referred to his, and to an extent, Hillary's selection of inexperienced political appointees. It's fair to say that following 12 years of Reagan/Bush along with the collapse of the USSR, Clinton's national security council had a fundamental different vision of the US role in global security. However, in the nine months between Clinton's inauguration and the Black Hawk incident, the national security council and civilian DOD leadership substantively changed the US mission in Somalia while withholding key weapon platforms and restrictive rules of engagement to avoid the optics of the US as an invasion force.
@@ThorWildBoarYou think the First Lady had anything to do with the selection of military officers. SMH the number right-wing media did on Americans common sense.
Going beyond the talk radio sound bites, in reality what you saw with Somalia, and it had begun with HW Bush with Panama and Gulf War 1, was the rise of the Neoconservative movement in the US government and military & MIC, that would reach its peak with W Bush’s dual disastrous “nation-building” wars of choice in Iraq and Afghanistan.
That’s what was happening here. Clinton just didn’t have the stones to stop it in its tracks and save the ensuing 30k+ American boys and 200k+ civilians.
The Draft Dodger who never Inhaled.
@@DanielMartinez-v3d The first American President to never have served in any capacity in any US Armed Service.
@@jhilal2385 From what I could see, 14 US Presidents have never served in any capacity, 10 of whom were before Clinton, including John Adams and FDR.
Fun fact in the beginning when its talking about the 160th S.O.A.R: SOAR stands for Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and they are pilots specifically for special forces. One of their many nicknames are "the nightstalkers" (when the two pilots are arguing about scrabble, one says "touch my limo and I'll spank you nightstalker") because on average they have more "flight hours" at night than most helicopter pilots get during the daytime.
They are the best of the best when it comes to helicopter pilots, their job is to take the deadliest men on the planet to and from battle. They regularly fly at night using night vision, for a frame of reference: imagine flying a helicopter that's 60ft long and roughly 70ft wide in pitch black night, and your field of view through your night vision is like looking through two bathroom tissue rolls in front of your eyes.
Those guys are truly a different breed of human.
My Brother still to this day has a memorial bracelet he never takes off, ever. On it is the name of CWO Donovan Briley. He was the Copilot of the first Blackhawk (Cliff Wolcott was the pilot). My brother and he were friends and next door neighbor in off base housing. Brother was with the 101st at Ft Campbell, where the 160th is also based.
This is one of my favorite war films. It doesn’t glorify war at all, and also doesn’t pull many punches in terms of graphic realism. It also respects the men who were over fighting over there back in ‘93. And the cast is top tier and the acting is really good
Ridley Scott got his back-to-back Best Director Oscar nomination for this movie after Gladiator. It was really well deserved because this film is a technical masterpiece to put together.
That line from Atto, "Don't make the mistake of thinking because I grew up without running water, I am simple, general."
That was brilliant script writing.
That line "there's a fucking rocket in him sir". Perfectly captures the humor (that militants need to have to help stay sane) and terror of war.
"Gordy is gone man, I'll be outside"
“…good luck.”
That scene is hard to watch.
gets me every single time.
That is indeed a line in the movie...
"Everything is very simple in war, but the simplest thing is difficult. These difficulties accumulate and produce a friction, which no man can imagine..."
- Gen. Carl von Clausewitz
Or, in common parlance, when you're up to your ass in alligators it's tough to remember you wanted to drain the swamp.
Fucking A dude wasnt wrong! thanks for putting this quote here made me research this along with his other stuff. dude was dead on, with his quotes! especially the Fog of war one
For the movie they actually got the 160th SOAR "Nightstalkers" to create the initial insertion.
Aye
From what I have found out they initially weren’t going to be able to get Blackhawk’s but in the end the DOD came to an agreement with them and provided the aircraft and aircrew when needed. It made the movie better for sure.
They also had actual Rangers do the fast rope for the insertion scene.
@@bornepatrol However, there are a few scenes where it's clear the filmmakers used Hueys when Blackhawks weren't available. The shots from overhead while the informant is talking to the JOC from his car, for example.
Shugart and Gordon exemplify with the true meaning of being an infantryman and a Ranger. There is footage of what happened to them. May they forever rest in peace.
They were delta force
It’s just shows how powerful this movie is even after 22 years that people still cry or feel really overwhelmed. I’ve watched this film like a dozen of times and it still overwhelms me to this day. Black Hawk Down has to be one of the greatest modern day war movie and one awesome thing is almost half of the cast you see are now big name stars. Tom Hardy(Mad Max:Fury and the dark knight:Rises),Nikolaj Coster-Waldau(game of thrones),Ty Burrell(Modern Family),Eric Bana(Hulk),Orlando Bloom(Lord of the rings) and many more all started their career with with Black Hawk Down
Ironically, I will never forget one of negative critiques of the film: The reviewer said it was hard to get engaged in the characters because all the frontline soldiers looked the same.
Sure, when the movie came out, most of the younger cast were unknowns but I had no problem distinguishing them. And _now,_ decades later, it seems almost a preposterous thought given how many of them became household names.
Aside from reviews calling Star Wars a “forgettable Flash Gordon in a pan” and Empire Strikes Back “one of the worst sequels ever made”, that criticism of Black Hawk Down has stuck with me as one of most poorly-aged reviews I’ve ever encountered.
@@AngeloBarovierSD still remember that review and still remember another one making a comparison between Black Hawk Down and We were soldiers saying about how BHD don’t make the viewers engaged with the characters. Don’t remember which but I read it somewhere but love both films in their own ways however prefer black Hawk down slightly more
Human tragedy knows no expiration date.
The movie is eternal
Seeking approval
"C2 Shughart and Gordon are on the deck."
Those two men are my heroes.
I was reading that there was about 7 stray dogs on set and were all adopted afterwards.
I heard a super fucked up thing about the scene where the pilot Durant is taken captive. 29:05 We're shown him get hit in the head by a rifle and then beaten further before that one dude steps in and stops them. I listened to a podcast with Durant and he said that it wasn't a rifle that hit him, it was a severed limb of one of the Delta Snipers who had come to rescue him. The Somalis literally tore them apart after they killed them.
At least some of that crew was badly mangled, and not all of them were recovered. There are books written by 10th Mountain soldiers who talk about this. They said how often enemies were captured and torn to bits by the mob. It wasn't just in Mogadishu but other towns as well.
It is interesting to note that many Somalis were also disgusted by this, referring to the class that did this in unflattering terms.
Durant was first captured by a group of fighter hoping to sell or trade him, most likely. However, Aidid's men ended up with him and he was taken to a place and given minimal care but also protection until he was released.
That's not what happened. We watched both of them be dragged through the streets of Somalia for weeks after, all limbs attached. You got bad intel.
@@Thane36425I'd have to dig my book out, but Durant actually spoke highly of the guy that was trying to render aid to him after he was moved for the second time. Can't recall his name. They allowed him to have a bible that he was chronicling his capitivity in, and this guy thought that he was just very religious and making personal notations in scripture.
@@JackmG87 That's right. He seemed to have been taken by freelancers or another militia group, then was taken by Aidid's men. Aidid's minder looked after Durant for the duration. What's really odd is that the main resuce convoy seemed to have passed very close to where Durant was first being held, close enough that Durant was worried for his safety.
The mutilation of the crew was in other sources, not the Bowden book. One of the others mentions it and it was recounted elsewhere.
There is some validity to this. Some of the Pakistanis who were ambushed and killed were mutilated. It was also not uncommon for this to happen in the regular intertribal fighting either. I think it was the book by a 10th Mountain officer "Somalia on 5 Cents a Day" or something like that, where accounts of that fighting related how captives were sometimes torn apart by rival groups.
The accounts often had the Somalis themselves putting this on the "lower class" people and some of the educated, middle/upper class people seemed ashamed at this behavior.
When I first joined in 99, I served with guys who were in this and several other incidents in Mog.
In 2003, I went on my first tour to Iraq, on the invasion. And over the last 24 years, I’ve had 6 deployments.
This movie is the most accurate, current era, firefight movie I’ve seen. This is what my experiences were like.
A few of my buddies were part of the Marine air contingent in '92-93. My first deployment was to Okinawa in '93 and we heard Africa had stuff going on but no idea about this. I went back to Oki in '94 for a SPMAGTF which went to Somalia specifically to gather and transport the U.N. armor and construction equipment. The entire time we were wondering what the hell happened that had the locals against Americans specifically, but the U.N. turds kept saying it was the Army that pissed them off.
When this book came out, it spread like wildfire. We were like "ooooooh, ok. THAT'S why they hate us." Yeah. Sucks to be them.
A couple of the guys I served with, to include a squad leader, were there. I later served under LTC Steele.
@@crewchief5144 in the book is one of those panoramic photos, like in high school class photos. My squad leader at the time had been in that fight, and had a copy of the real photo, which included the Delta guys, who were cropped out for the book (OPSEC).
TF 1-64 3rd ID OIF1 You?
You should watch Generation Kill...
I was in the Army when this movie hit theaters. I left the theater with all kinds of emotions. BHD is raw and heartbreaking, but it shows the potential reality of serving in the military. I enjoy your reactions immensely. Keep up the good work 🙂
I was in the Army when these events took place. Me and another sergeant were considering volunteering for this mission when this took place. Reporting at the time was limited. It seemed at the time we were being crapped on for helping them, and so we nixed that. In retrospect, it was a lot more complex. When I learned the full story when the book came out, I regretted not volunteering.
Blackhawk Down and We were Soldiers were the two movies that made me join the U.S. Army Infantry. Both movies came out a few months after 9-11, and in 2002 I graduated the Infantry school...I was deployed to Ramadi Iraq 03-04. I just realized that 20 years ago today, I was somewhere in Ramadi.
We chewed some of the same dirt brother! I love you,and wish you and yours well!
Josh Hartnett
Ewan McGregor
Tom Sizemore (R.i.P.)
Eric Bana
William Fichtner
Sam Shepard (R.i.P.)
Kim Coates
Jason Isaacs
Nikolaj Coster-Walder
Tom Hardy
Orlando Bloom
Ty Burrell
etc.
The Castlist and Direction of Ridley Scott is just insane. Probably his most underrated Movie.
I love it when someone comments that a successful film with great reception and esteem is somehow underrated. Heh.
@@t0dd000the movie is so underrated that i got pissed btw yes its an underrated war film
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau...
Tom Guiry. Smalls from Sandlot grew up, enlisted and became a Ranger.
What if you put in the same energy to remember the names of the actual people they portrayed.
I served with the 10th Mtn unit that actually went in at the end to save the soldiers that were stranded (not at the time of this but afterwards). Every year we do a run called the Mogadishu Mile where we run the distance that they ran to get out of the city. During these runs veterans from that battle actually join us in commemoration of what happened that day. I had a chance to speak with one of them, I don't remember who, but he said that while this movie was changed for Hollywood the spirit of what happened was very much intact and the changes weren't nearly as much as many other retellings of historical events.
I agree with your assessment that this movie is visceral, that is a great word for it. War is visceral and if this movie can share that sensation I think that's a good thing.
I usually don't like reaction videos but the way you show compassion and seem to have a kind heart makes your videos enjoyable to watch! Thanks and keep it going.
I was stationed at The Pentagon as a Marine and one of the most hallowed areas is the heroes wall where you can read all the names of those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor. This happened while I was there and for a while they had the two large pictures on display of the 2 Special Operations soldiers that died fighting off the attackers at crash site 2. It was always a quiet place even during the day but at night, it was surreal. Nothing but respect from one combat veteran to another.
This film is amazing. It's one of those that i can't believe it managed to be filmed. So much action; so many incredible shots and scenes. I admire how it tells the whole situations from a strategic point of view, showing not only the multiple infantry perspectives, but the ones from the helicopters and the command. It really builds all of them as protagonists. And of course, it also make you feel empathy for a lot of the different individuals and their relationships with each other. It's like a mini Band of Brothers, where you finish up caring for a lot of them.
For me, best war film. It really shows a battle with the sufficient complexity it should be shown, and even with its emotional narrative. (Some films only manage to show one of this two: the strategic complexity, but not the emotion; or the emotion, but not the complexity.)
Thank you for your comment!
Could you marry me you are amazing@@holddowna
I'm not gonna lie. Your reaction to this movie is the best I've seen out of people who don't usually watch war movies. Awesome stuff Ames.
Thanks! Out of my element as I don’t know anything about war/military stuff
There is a LOT to unpack from this film.
First of all, the two Delta guys that dropped in at the end and died, posthumously recognised for their bravery, are 100% legends. Just about the most selfless act I have ever heard of, and as someone that not only grew up in the army as a brat, but then went on to serve myself, that is very significant and I have met and worked with some incredible people that did unbelievable things and were similarly decorated.
I encourage everyone to watch the behind the scenes/making of, videos that exist. This to me is the best one: ua-cam.com/video/Uj15a4qFoqc/v-deo.htmlsi=jG8XB7JkPNcpJ4XS
The actors talking about the bootcamp that they went on is very enlightening, particularly the actors that spent time with Delta, but the most poignant thing is what happened at the end of it.
As one of the actors tells it - “On the last day of boot camp, we all got an anonymous letter pushed under our door. It thanked us for our hard work and asked us to ‘tell our story true’ and it was signed from all the boys who died.”
Thanks for the heads up, I’ll be watching that.
Gordy's gone man.
That last part....man....😢
@@davecrupel2817 I know. Having seen this originally in the cinema, I got the DVD when it was released and this was in the DVD extras. Emotive stuff.
What the movie doesn't show was why they were fighting from inside the helicopter. At least one of the other crew members were still alive and they were defending them as well.
Randy Shugart and Gary Gordon. Absolute Gods amongst men.
Absolute Legends that will go down in history as such and nothing else... 👍👍🤙🇺🇲
Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart are legends in their own right, and their names command respect in many circles. It's a tragedy that the raid turned out how it did, we lot a lot of good people that day.
20:46 The other Delta sniper suffered a dislocated shoulder during the crash, so Dan Busch essentially had to single-handedly hold crash site 1 until the Rangers and Delta arrived on foot. Though he was evacuated on the Little Bird helicopter, he didn't survive his wounds which included a gut shot below the front plate of his body armor. He was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
Sir Ridley Scott is a very competent director. He has proven it time and time again with films such as Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven (Director’s Cut only) and so many others.
slet me add couple or more Ridley scott's movies : The Martian, American Gangster and an underrated one Matchstick Men
This one always hits everybody in the feels. Just shows how well made it is.
I fly helicopters for the Army, it takes a long time to get good at and even then there is still room for improvement. The pilots depicted are 160th SOAR, which is an even greater skill level.
Thank you for your service! Thanks for watching!
First time watching. Love your reaction. This film never gets old to me. As someone stationed at Benning 3rd batt 75th rangers, its cool to know the history of what my fellow vets went through. A+ and 👍👍
Watching this movie as a boy is what made me want to sign up for the military.
Also, interestingly enough, the events in the movie Hotel Rwanda is what happened right after. The events depicted in this movie are what causes the international response in that movie.
As a Dutch former Marine, "07-"11 trained in Air Maneuvre Combat (basically, Heli Insertion) who did 1x Afghanistan, Uruzgan, this hits somewhat home.
It's an outstanding movie based on a FUBAR mission. The odds the American brothers faced here was FUBAR. They held their own amazingly. A must-see movie indeed.
I first seen this movie when I was in high school, it is still in my top five “it’s what you do right NOW, that makes a difference” that line is still with me to this day.
Had to cut my journey through your playlist to watch this one. I love your content and your reactions. Keep it up.🫡
I was in Somalia, but my unit redeployed back to the States about two weeks before the battle of Mogadishu.
Those two snipers...... Balls of steel.
I was part of the mop-up MAGTF that went in to get the U.N. equipment in '94 but didn't know crap about this incident until the book came out.
The timing of this movie, post 9/11 was immensely helpful to the recruiting effort and that was a full year before the invasion of Iraq.
I knew several kids that joined specifically because of the camaraderie displayed in this film. Ridley Scott did a great job capturing it and even with his Aussie accent slipping in here and there, Eric Bana delivered some of the best lines that are a summation of what I heard during my 23 years in the Marine Corps. "It's about the men next to you." Some people get it, but until you've been on a defensive line and literally looked over and shared a silent smile with the guy next to you before or during an attack, it's just not quite the same.
Don’t care about how you bonded with people over destroying an entire country and subjugating it’s people for opium and gold.
Awe Ames!!!! lol, the movie hasn't begun and you're already crying.
Thanks so much for watching! Rough watch! Thanks for being here!
Ames, thank you for helping us vets review these war movies, with your heartfelt, intelligent perspective.
Thank you for ur service ❤️
One of theeeeee best movies ever made.. Watched this more than 50 times and still gets me every single time.
Hi Aimee. Literally one of your best reviews. Your emotions & tears were genuine and it's much appreciated. I'm a veteran, my unit was in the middle east at an undisclosed comm center. We were in communication with the JOC in Mogadishu that day/night. We had the ability to transmit/forward requests for assistance to the Pentagon. Bill Clinton's Secretary of Defense denied any military assistance and ordered Senior military officials to cease all communication with the men under fire in Somalia. We had over 10,000 troops, tanks, & dozens of combat aircraft only a few hours away. My 2 senior officers were demanding & begging for the order to provide immediate aid. The reply from the Pentagon was: "Cease and desist, power down your transmitters, STAND DOWN". They were threatened with court martial if they did not comply. We had to sit there all night listening to them beg for help while their buddies died. It was the lowest point of my 23 years of service. I can't describe how angry I was at everyone responsible for allowing this to happen. Some people may disagree with me. That's the difference between a President like Reagan & Trump and Clinton & Biden.
I'll never forget the first time I watched this. I was beyond stressed through the entire movie and that night I had nightmares all night about it. The bravery our soldiers display in horrific times surrounded by bloodshed and death is mind boggling to say the least. May the fallen rest sweetly now.
Thanks for watching! Totally stressful
"So many doors, windows, and rooftops. You don't know where they're going to come out from.", the joys of urban warfare.
In real life the Streets where more narrow
I just know this from buddies that fought in the WoT and from other youtube channels. You stay away from the walls, not necessarily because of an RPG hit, but because all of those building are brick, stone, or clay some some kind so if a bullet hits the building at an angle it is very likely to simply travel down the wall so if you're standing right against it you'll end up getting hit by a ricochet.
Mike Durant did an interview and talked about how some time prior to this mission a Nigerian UN Base was captured by the Somalis and they tortured everyone they captured to death. In Mike's words, "If they would do that to their fellow Africans, what would they do to a white American?" Also, he wasn't hit by a gun's buttstock in real life, it was one of his comrades severed arms. They literally tore them to pieces. The women were actually known to be particularly brutal because there was a cultural expectation to take vengeance is someone killed your husband so dead or captured soldiers were one of the only ways to really take out their aggression.
The two Delta Snipers knew what they were asking. They knew their odds were terrible. Bravery is an understatement. It's one thing to risk your life when you IN the crap. It's another thing to be safely above the crap, ask to go in, get denied multiple times, and continue to ask to go in, knowing you're going to die.
Thanks so much for your comment!
the book gives the exact same reason why he said to stay away from walls. He knew bullets would ricochet down the wall
Did you see the Shawn Ryan podcast with Tom Sutterly where he talked about Randy Shugarts wife not using trashbags anymore cause apparently they recovered parts of his body in black trashbags. I still tear up thinking about her.
The women of the native Americans were in charge of torturing prisoners also, for the same reasons!...from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 👋🤠
@@slopcrusher3482He mentions one of the wives but not by name. He also said that in the trash bags they put the remains that he thought were Gordon, Shugart, Cleveland and some others. But I have also read about how Shugart's wife (that also is a nurse) was told to not go to identified Randy's body herself, so she sent a brother, and the brother told her that the body was intact but the face was totally smashed until made unrecognizable, he identified him for the intact body, so he wasn't torn apart or in the trash bags....
"Gordy's gone, man. I'll be outside."
That's why we do MOUT training. MOUT stands for Military Operations in Urban Terrain. I was also in Ramadi in 2004. It was my first deployment as a 19 year old Infantry Rifleman in the US Marines.
I served in the Marine Corps infantry, and got out of the military in May 1992 (as a Desert Shield/Storm/Stay veteran). I went to see this movie in theatre when it came out. I was with my girlfriend Erin at the time. She kind of pushed me to see it with her.
I was still in my seat after the lights came on, and everyone but us two left. I couldn't stop crying.
She couldn't understand why I was in tears. She dumped me two weeks later for a college baseball player.
Was the ball player named Jodie? Semper Fi!
@Pavia1525 🤣🤣🤣🤣
No, his name was Matt and he was actually a pretty cool guy. She fucked him over in the end too.
Sounds like you dodged a bullet, my friend.
We get railed for not being Emotional and when we do, they’re all surprised… Like we can’t win…
29:34 Air Force Pararescueman Tim Wilkerson is barely seen in the movie, but he was awarded the Air Force Cross for repeatedly risking his life to provide medical care to wounded Rangers. This included a 45 meter run back and forth between two buildings to retrieve critically needed medical supplies while under intense gunfire. Seeing him miraculously survive this run, one Ranger said "God must really love medics!", and others joked that the Somalis kept missing Wilkerson because he was such a ridiculously slow runner that they were firing too far in front of him.
at the start of the movie the chalk leader says "we're rangers, not some sorry ass JROTC"
ROTC : Reserve Office Training Corps - Military training for college students to train them to become officers while they attend college. So when they graduate college they are 2nd Lieutenants
JROTC : Junior ......- a high school course for people interested in attending ROTC when they get to college. You dont get anything upon graduation, its more of just a "get a demo of the ROTC experience"
so he basically says they are not high school students playing pretend, they are well trained soldiers who know what they are doing.
JROTC is "Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps"
basically, highschoolers.
Thanks!
I was watching the news as this was happening. I was horrified as I saw Gary Gordon and Randy Shugart’s bodies dragged out and violated by the rampaging mob on the news broadcast. I dreaded the moment in the film when this scene was about to take place. The film was not as disturbingly graphic as that news broadcast. I still cry whenever I watch this masterpiece.
In reality the pilot wasn't the only survivor of the crash, but like Gordon and Shughart everyone besides Durant did get killed by the mob.
Shouldn’t have invaded a country for no reason and made the local situations tangibly worse than before they arrived
shouldnt have killed some of our men@@millierockin1949
Lol what??? Somali erupted into violence on its own. It’s literally the only justified conflict since WW2, with the first Gulf War being questionable. It was literally genocide, with attacks happening on peace keeping forces. Let me guess, you’re the type of guy who says we shouldn’t have stepped in and saved South Korea after the North invaded?
@@millierockin1949 Was this an invasion?
I clearly remember those 2 Delta Force Operators being paraded naked and hanged shown in International news when I was a kid. They're real heroes laying down their lives for others.
Fun fact, the Rangers in Mogadishu didnt Ditch their backplates, they never had them to begin with, their Body armor vests only had a pocket for front plates, no pocket for rear plates, the vests they use in the movie are the 2nd version of the vests that had back plate pockets added specifically because of the events of Mogadishu.
13:58 you're right.
For example, Keith Jones the pilot of the little bird, which is evacuating Daniel Busch at crashside 1 did the same thing in 1993. But it was a narrow street and he had no idea if the helicopter would fly out, because the rotor blades scratched the walls by the landing.
He made it out. That's an example, how good the pilots of the 160th s.o.a.r. are.
Btw he was send to the filming by the army.
He was asked, if he would portrait himself and he did.
Too good! Thanks for your comment!
@@holddowna here I aome more info about the Somalia disaster..
United States navy had a expidionary force right off the coast with 10000 marines able to deploy immediately. There were ac130 gunships available with 3 hours...
This was all denied by the Clinton administraion...
10 years late Secretary of state Hillary Clinton refuse air assets that were within 2 hours for the Bengazi *embassy attack costing 13 American lives..
Wr now have 5000 troops in Niger being in same situation now.
Remember MEN ARE DISPOSABLE and Not Needed...
This is one of those great films that I dont think I'll ever watch again.
It is so refreshing to see someone with a physical collection of film media behind them. This was the first video I just found from your channel and right off the bat, I could see you're genuine with your reactions. I subscribed and look forward to many more great videos and reactions. Many thanks. 🎬👍
Love your reactions! Couple more really good war movies you should watch are Hacksaw Ridge (WWII) and We Were Soldiers (Vietnam War).
@ 30:59. Lorenzo Ruiz is from my home town of El Paso! They named a street after him here as well. Every time I drive by the area I always remember his sacrifice and his resilience. Dude worked a whole shift with a hole in his chest. Gold standard! RIP!
My dad served in the Marines in the Middle East. When he was deployed, I got into watching war movies. It was sort of a way to connect with him while he was gone. I've seen most of the war movies from the 80s onward. For some reason though, despite all of the violent and sometimes graphic war movies I watched, this is the one that gave me huge amounts of anxiety for a while after I watched it. I was a wreck for a while.
This is a great movie, in my opinion. And the cast is absolutely amazing to me. Not only the big-name actors, but even the supporting cast are almost all actors that I recognize from other roles, even if I don't know their names. I don't think there's a single person with a speaking line that I can't name at least one other movie or show they were in. While this may not be the "best" war movie in terms of popular opinion, it may be my favorite one. I'm glad you decided to react to it. Hope you're having a good weekend! ✌🤓
Has your dad ever watched this movie?
If so, what did he think of it?
@@davecrupel2817 My dad doesn't watch war movies. He's fine with silly action movies where one guy fights an entire army or something, but he won't watch actual war movies. The only one he ever watched with me was "Saving Private Ryan," and he sat there silently through the whole thing, like a statue. I haven't asked him to watch another one with me since. I get it. I guess maybe war movies aren't so exciting and dramatic if you've lived through something similar. I don't watch movies featuring things that caused me trauma. It makes sense other people might feel the same. ✌🤓
@@BubblyRainbows I'm genuinely surprised he sat through saving private ryan.
And i completely understand that.
Give him my thanks for his service when you can.
@@davecrupel2817 Will do. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. I hope you're having a good day!
"..so many doors, windows, rooftops..so you dont even- OH FUCK- you just dont know where anyone is gonna pop out!!!" That made shoot cherry pepsi through my nose 😅
This movie is a prime example of why you don't work with or negotiate with evil....you eradicate it with massive use if force
Ya okay bud
@Kashgari watch your mouth son
Just watched an interview with “Hoot” on UA-cam. Really good! Great guy.
When this movie came out, the survivors of Operation Gothic Serpent (what the movie is based on) commented that the movie followed what actually happened on so many points it was unreal. Alot of the dialog and character portrayals were as close to what was actually said, and how they actually behaved during the operation. Example is Mcnight being fearless. He actually acted that way to inspire his men. Or the "what you do now" speech when convoy returned to base, that was actually spoken by the guy.
Great reacting and commentary, young woman. It was a tough watch and you handled it well. You are a great mix of toughness blended with a lovely soft heart and soul. Thank you for being so perceptive and understanding. You are one of my favourite commentators. Keep up the good work. Cheers from Australia. 🇦🇺
So many wars and conflicts seem so unnecessary and avoidable, but at the same time they seem so necessary and unavoidable. If you step in you're in the wrong and if you don't step in you're in the wrong.
All I know is I'm thankful for all those that have served, past present and future.
It seems to me like what is happening in haiti now could be compared to somalia. But i don't thjnk there is any appetite for intervention now. Somalia is probably why we didn't intervene in rwanda.
@@qbasicmichael you get criticised either way, usually by the same people. It doesn't make sense and is why no one knows what the right thing to do is. And then there's the problem of who exactly stands to benefit from it, it's always the wrong people who end up suffering.
There's no such thing as a "good war" and the idea that war does anything good is a fundamental misunderstanding of what war is.
"🥺 Captain Mike...." haha so sweet. that was my first video of yours, found that sweet
It's not the best structure for the story but Mike Durant was on Jocko Podcast 312. Turns out if you're a special forces pilot you got some badass stories :)
What a great review. I appreciate your personal investment in the subject matter and your immersion into the film. AND the debrief at the end. Really well thought out format. I’ll be watching more of your videos.
Tom Sizemore was an incredible actor!! He did a lot more than soldier roles. I highly recommend True Romance!!!! Amazing movie, written by Tarantino!! Directed by Ridley Scott’s brother!! There’s a scene with Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper that is beyond amazing!!!
Gotta say, I LOVED ur reaction on this! U looked like u were in a hot zone, the whole time! Specially when the guys driving, gets an RPG, smashed glass, colonels neck got shot, and u shout out, "wtf is going on?". It looked like u were lookin for cover, most of the time!
I remember the news footage of the bodies being dragged through the streets!! RIP!!! Better men than I could ever be!!!❤
Same
Yep, this was way before youtube and smart phones but the footage was on the tv for all to see. It was very disturbing and infuriating.
As disgusting and disturbing as the act was, at the same time you gotta keep in mind the frustration and struggles of the Somali people at the time. When the US airstrike killed many of their elders, they felt the US had basically eliminated any hope of peace.
That has nothing to do with parading a dead body through a mob@@afroartist1086 It takes a level of sociopathy and primitive immaturity to gloat over a dead body, not to mention picking it up and dragging it around while actually celebrating, dancing and yelling about it.
These were not a people with any concept of peace, let alone hope.
@@afroartist1086 There wasn't gonna be a chance at peace even before that. The warlords wouldn't allow it because they'd be giving up their power, and they'd amassed quite a lot of it during that time. That doesn't excuse them acting like barbarians with the bodies of the men at the super 64 crash site at all.
I started following you because I truly see the passion you have for movies, plus your beautiful. Keep up the good work in these reactions...
Only criticism I have of the film is the down play of the Pakistani and Malaysian forces that went out in the armored convoy. Pakistanis had 1 killed 10 missing (likely dead) 30 wounded. And Malaysian had one killed multiple wounded, all while defending the crash sites while the long process to cut out the dead pilots went on. The film just makes it seem like they drove there and drove back and didn't fight, when they DID. And that they were rude forcing the Rangers to walk when it was the Rangers decision to do so.
It was never shown in the movie but Goffena had 62 orbit around 64 to cover Shugart and Gordon to give them time so they can drag the crew to Star 41 who were waiting for them. Eventually, Star 41 had to go because they were running out of fuel and Shuhart and Gordon were unable to move all the crew in the first place who all had survived the crash but severely injured.
20 minutes later Goffena's chopper took an RPG to the cockpit, knocking out the windshield and blowing apart the right side of the chopper, taking out the number 2 engine which also knocked out the co-pilot and amputated the door gunner's leg. Goffena was miraculously able to limp back to the direction of the airfield before conducting a controlled crash landing in the dock areas. All the crew survived.
Shugart and Gordon defended 64 for two hours before being killed in action. The crowd soon descended upon 64's wounded crew, killing all but Durant.
Just to add some context to the final scene where they finally return to base, that crowd was cheering for the soldiers. Most people in the country hated Aidid, and so they were happy to see the UN fight against him and his militia.
A friend of mine I met while at Fort Drum, James Martin, from A Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, was lost that day. He was a brave guy who was lost way too soon. Every soldier who serves deserves way more than is received.
Jeff Strueker did an interview about his role in this battle and it's worth a watch. Pretty amazing guy
Cool I’ll check it out
Just discovered your channel and subbed. Great job! I also watched your Forrest Gump reaction, also a great vid! You should for sure watch The Shawshank Redemption, it my all time favorite and I just went and toured the filming locations. Take care!
Wow that’s so cool! I will re watch! One of my fave movies of all time
There's bravery, and there's Gordon and Shugart. It's hard to fathom such selfless sacrifice. They knew what they were doing and were ready for glory. First Medal of Honors after Vietnam, and they were beyond well deserved. There are no words other than "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
Hello, it's the first video I've seen of you and I'm amazed at the intensity with which you experience a movie. You are incredible, of course I am already subscribed and I will continue to like your reactions. ❤❤❤
19:33 - You comment that it's so stressful because of all the doors, windows, rooftops, etc. I remember when I first deployed as an infantryman in Samarra, Iraq, that sentiment you expressed had a physical manifestation for me. At the end of the day (two missions a day that included a walking "presence patrol") I still remember my eyeballs and what felt like my _brain_ feeling absolutely exhausted, every single day. Never in my life in any other context have I needed to move my eyes that much (scanning EVERYTHING, EVERYBODY), and process that much information. Every vehicle parked or moving (is it overloaded? sagging? how many people inside? descriptions? anything unusual or suspicious?), every person standing or moving (hands? weapons? hiding anything? eye contact? description? how many? are they communicating with anybody? are they watching?), doorways/windows/rooftops/shadows/corners/everything.... It legitimately was its own kind of exhaustion that wasn't my tired legs, my aching back, my cardio. And even once you're used to it, the challenge became not being complacent with the sheer amount of information you have to see and assess every single day, every single mission. Trying to remember to treat everything with equal potential despite the quiet days. That particular deployment was the hardest and most dangerous one I had. 15 months of intensity. They blockaded roads and burned tires and trash just like you see in this movie. Countless firefights, ambushes conducted and hit by, deaths and wounded given and taken, and nearly everything/anything you can imagine in the context of combat. Hell, even a Silver Star in my platoon. Anyway.
Oof. I can only imagine what that’s like. The closest I ever came were two plainclothes security gigs, one with a VIP ex-politician and the other with a movie star when a credible threat was communicated.
The first was tense but we had UC and uniformed LEOs (and I’m sure special agents from two countries though I was never told) all around. Spent the night expecting to be caught in the middle of a terrorist attack.
… but the second incident is the one you reminded me of. All we had to do was get the movie star from the restaurant to her hotel on foot (it was a film fest and the streets were crammed with people, so no cars). We had a couple of big guys doing CPP but my management and her top guard recruited me.
Something like: “You’re smart, you have good eyes, so you’re lead-left.” It had to be no more than 300m from door to door but I’ve never been so hyper-aware in my life.
Like you said, eyes scanning, brain on fire, heart racing. And this was in Toronto, Canada, surrounded by “friendlies”, only on guard for one individual who probably wasn’t even armed. Yet I can recall the whole short journey in alarming detail. My skinny butt in a black suit, no weapons, and no training for actual CPP was, uh, well it wasn’t how I thought the night was gonna go.
I think about that and then what it must have been like, ramped up in intensity and in actual danger, longer distances, and repeated patrols, in an actual war zone. I’m not sure my brain can process that level of heightened awareness and stress.
War is hell. Glad you made it home. Hope you’re well.
@@AngeloBarovierSD Great comment with your experience as well. I've always considered that there's a different kind of exhaustion in a scenario like yours, specifically _because_ of the "surrounded by friendlies" context. It's almost the exact opposite intersection of my experience, tbh. You're trying not to miss the needle in the haystack (and you're protecting someone), and I'm trying to determine which potential danger is more dangerous to _me_ or _us,_ since we're all a target. I've always said that I feel like it would somehow be scarier or more stressful to have what I refer to as 'a career in conflict' when the context _isn't_ war. At least on deployment, it's kind of a bubble, a different lens, and you can sort of put your game face on for the duration of the deployment and put your brain in a different kind of box. As opposed to when you already live around the regular city with the regular hustle and bustle and have to do that work... Having to put your game face on in the same kind of places that you buy groceries in your sweatpants seems like it could be more emotionally weary. Anyway. I'm still here. Cheers, man. Glad those days went without a hitch for you.
*There's actual aerial footage of this looks real similar to the movie or should I take the movie made it look similar to the aerial footage*
6:05 so the bald dude is the same actor who played lucious malfoy in Harry potter
I love that line, 'I trained to make a difference"
I trained to make a difference too, sometimes that was fighting, other times it was helping, even helping the enemy. I loved and miss being a combat medic.
What was not mentioned in the movie is how actually diverse the Rescue operation was, Italians, French, Malaysians, Pakistanis and other nations on peacekeeping in Somalia at the time went to the rescue of the fallen Americans.
Army brat here living near an army base when this movie came out, and I still remember the way people talked about it. So many active duty went to see it in droves. Mistakes were made on that op that were highlighted, and they were watching it partially as a training video. That mission changed a few rules and procedures, though I don't remember what they were anymore.
The two Delta guys that landed at the second helicopter crash were both awarded the Medal of Honor they’re some of them most badass operators to serve our country, Delta force really are the best of the best
"Roger that. We know what we're getting into." MSG Gary Gordon & SFC Randy Shughart earned their Medal of Honor. Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his brother
The book of the same name is worth reading. They basically cut every non-American point of view to shorten the story down to film length, so the book has a lot of missing context for what's happening.
Nah, just watch the movie and take a shot everytime someone yells "RPG!!"
Way more fun.
Agree. Great book and really fleshes out the situation better.
You're the best reviewer on UA-cam. Very emotionally charged. You highlight the emotion and stress of the movies.
You've got to watch Lone Survivor or 13 hours soldiers of Benghazi next both fantastic movies and real life stories
13 hours is incredibly underrated and extremely well done
Read about Durant's later admission of the rifle butt scene that broke his face. It was an arm ripped off of one of the guys. At the time didn't want to let it be known to the family...