Ridley Scott (“Blade Runner”, “Hannibal”) directed “Black Hawk Down”, which easily one of the greatest wars films ever made. It’s based on a true story and it really feels like the film took the time to get the details right, this is as believable as films come and that’s particularly impressive for a film with such a focus on action.

In 1993, over 120 American soldiers are sent into the Somali capital to capture two top lieutenants of the top warlord in the nation but when they arrive they are greeted by thousands of Somali militia fighters and armed civilians. It’s intense, it’s non-stop and it’s a great looking film; Scott has a way of drawing you in with the visuals and “Black Hawk Down” does that immensely well.

Josh Hartnett (“Pearl Harbour”), Ewan McGregor (“Trainspotting”), Eric Bana (“Hulk”), William Fichtner (“The Dark Knight”), Tom Hardy (“Bronson”) and Sam Shepard (“The Right Stuff”) are just some of the guys playing the various military men here and you get the feeling that these are all real soldiers… real people. The various Somalis here are also good despite not really having any dialog or screen-time beyond that of them firing weapons, they work so well because they appear to act like real fighters, you won’t see endless amounts of them running into fire or pointing at everything but the soldiers; as I say, it’s believably done.

“Black Hawk Down” might be Scott’s best film (I didn’t think he’d top “Blade Runner” but he may have done with this). Every minute of this film is well done. The visuals are gorgeous, the acting is believable, the combat is exciting yet not overly-dramatised and the detail that seems to have gone into it is something to applaud. “Black Hawk Down” is a slick, professional, thrilling and engaging picture; a true masterpiece.