Inciting Event: The mission briefing, with instructions on how to locate, capture, and extract General Aidid’s men.

First Plot Point: The Somali spy reveals the location of the targets, and Eversman and the men leave the base as the mission launches.

First Pinch Point: The first Black Hawk helicopter goes down in the city.

Midpoint: The second Black Hawk is shot down.

Second Pinch Point: Black Hawk pilot Mike Durant is captured by the Somalis after the two Delta snipers who came to rescue him are killed.

Third Plot Point: Eversman’s best friend Jamie Smith dies.

Climax: The convoy finally arrives to extract the men from the city.

Climactic Moment: Eversman and his men arrive at the safety of the Pakistani stadium.

Resolution: The wounded are tended, the men regroup, and Eversman says goodbye to Smith.

Notes: The structure is interesting here since the entire movie is basically one long action scene. It’s also what I like to call “pinchy” (as in “Pinch Points“), in the sense that bad things are happening to emphasize the antagonists’ control of the conflict all through the story. And yet the major plot (and pinch) points never get lost in the shuffle. They’re all very distinct even with the unrelenting high-tension conflict throughout.