In theaters

BLACK HAWK DOWN, directed by Ridley Scott. Written by Ken Nolan, based on the book by Mark Bowden. 143 minutes. Rated R.

Ridley Scott’s unflinching new war movie, “Black Hawk Down,” features one of the best re-enactments of man-to-man land combat ever captured on a movie screen. But don’t expect it to pack the emotional wallop of the film it’s most being compared to Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan.”

The film, which is based on Mark Bowden’s 1999 best-selling book of the same name, is technically stunning but icily detached, a visceral orgy of guns, bombs and carnage that captures the madness of urban combat and the bravery of U.S. forces, but which is so far removed from its characters, too much of its power resonates only through its explosions – and not through the men being blown apart by them.

Working from a script by Ken Nolan, Scott’s film is about the real-life Battle of the Black Sea, the Oct. 3, 1993, U.S. mission to remove Gen. Muhammad Farah Aidid’s militia from the ravaged city of Mogadishu, Somalia.

As outlined by Maj. Gen. William F. Garrison (Sam Shepard) to the Army’s elite Rangers and Delta Force, the mission should have been relatively simple, taking under an hour to execute. But because of poor planning, arrogance on behalf of the soldiers and a string of bad luck, it turned into a botched, 15-hour nightmare that went horribly wrong.

Indeed, after two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down by Somali gunfire, 100 troops became trapped on hostile ground. Suddenly, the mission’s focus shifted away from capturing Aidid’s men to getting our men out of Mogadishu alive.

For the next two hours, audiences are slammed with the battle as it erupts and blooms. What Scott has captured is ferocious and unrelenting; there’s never a false moment, never a time when it feels as if any of this has been staged. It’s a brilliant, devastating feat of filmmaking that ends with 73 Americans injured and 18 dead – including two men from Maine, Staff Sgt. Thomas Fields of Lisbon and Master Sgt. Gary Gordon of Lincoln.

But who are these men? Audiences will recognize some of the actors – Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Jason Isaacs, Orlando Bloom and Jeremy Piven, among dozens of others – but because the cast is so large, it’s impossible to connect with any of them. Instead, audiences must bond with the group, which is difficult to do given Scott’s determination to make a war movie focused purely on battle – and not on the lives being destroyed by it.

Grade: B

On video and DVD

(Tuesday, Jan. 22)

ROCK STAR, directed by Stephen Herek, written by John Stockwell. 110 minutes. Rated R.

Considering its generic plot, burnt-out conventions and wealth of rock star cliches, Stephen Herek’s “Rock Star” should be a heavy-metal bore, but it’s actually the opposite. For the most part, the film is irresistible, a surprisingly good rock flick that overcomes its shortcomings with energy, personality, a biting sense of humor and style.

Set in the mid-1980s, the film follows Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg), a Pittsburgh-based copy-machine repairman who’s devoted his life to worshipping Steel Dragon, a fictional British rock group Chris mimics in his own tribute band called Blood Pollution.

For Chris, losing his identity isn’t a problem. After he gets fired from Blood Pollution, he receives a call from Kirk Cuddy (Dominic West), the lead guitarist for Steel Dragon who’s seeking a replacement for Bobby Beers (Jason Flemyng), the band’s former lead singer and Chris’ longtime idol.

After auditioning for the band, Chris scores the gig and is tossed headlong into the maelstrom of rock superstardom. For a while, he can’t keep a smile off his face. But then, in the film’s predictable final hour, he’s forced to consider his relationship with his girlfriend, Emily (Jennifer Aniston), what he means to Steel Dragon, and who he is as a person.

On paper, all of this sounds about as interesting as the upcoming Britney Spears movie. But “Rock Star,” which is a cross between “Almost Famous” and Rob Reiner’s “This is Spinal Tap,” nevertheless works.

It’s especially strong during its first hour, when Herek, working from a screenplay by John Stockwell, has a great time pulling hard on the hair bands of the ’80s, particularly such standouts as Jackyl, Faster Pussycat, Trixter and Stryper.

My bet? “Rock Star” will hold up better than they did.

Grade: B

Christopher Smith is the Bangor Daily News film critic. His reviews appear Mondays and Fridays in Style, Tuesdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5” and Thursdays on “NEWS CENTER at 5:30” on WLBZ-2 and WCSH-6. He can be reached at BDNFilm1@aol.com.