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Probe Movie Review
by Preston Fillagre
Black Hawk Down
Prepare for another immersion into 90+ minutes of hand-held
subjective camerawork: we're going to war again. Ridley Scott behind
the lens seems to be favoring over-exposed slow stock film for those
realistic, highly contrasted visuals we all see when flooded with
adrenaline. Clearly -- or, not so clearly -- the moral and situational
ambiguities are to be reflected in muddy, incoherent visuals full of
dust, shadow, and (Mr. Scott's milieu) fog. We will be asked to
forgive disjointed plotlines since Life Ain't Like That, overlook
flat characters since Life IS Like That, and aimless narrative arcs
since War is Hell.
Furthermore, the washed out colors beckon us to compare
today's soldiering to the black-and-white battle lines of yesteryear:
All Quiet on the Western Front, From Here to Eternity and Paths
of Glory will all, no doubt, exhibit a far more nuanced palette than
this vehicle. Perhaps they should have just confined themselves to
shades of red, white, and blue, but that still avoids the honesty of
admitting the true shade of their allegiance: green. Let the Hype
Machine commence.
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