The Hurt Locker (2008)

It is fairly well known that Hollywood has been having trouble making films about the war on terror and even more trouble selling them to audiences.  I have seen many of these and not been too impressed.  A couple of good ones that come to mind are The Kingdom (maybe the end is more Arnold Schwarzenegger film than accurate war film but it’s still awesome) and In the Valley of Elah.  The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is one of the better attempts but I was pretty disappointed given the buzz surrounding it.

The plot of the film is very simple.  It follows wildcat SSgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) as he diffuses bombs in Iraq.  He is both feared and respected for his courage bordering on suicide.  Many characters in the film, including his “for the most part” right hand man Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), wonder why/how he does it.  The film has a simple answer, war is a drug and like any drug, it is addictive.  Not to mention he feels more at home in a blazing car ready to explode than he is trying to find cereal in a grocery store.

The film does a good job of not turning the soldiers into clichés, probably through the combination of a decent script and excellent acting.  There’s no comic relief or character that dies heroically to save others.  Nope.  Just people doing their jobs and usually not liking it, unless of course, they’re addicted.  Also, the war scenes themselves are not cliché.  In fact, you usually don’t even know whom or from where bullets are coming from, just like a real battle.  The only problem with that is some of the action scenes almost lack intensity because it’s just random bullets flying at random people.

The action is almost non-stop in this movie.  But it’s all filmed realistically and without typical Hollywood action style.  This movie trades slow mo car flips for the nervous tension that goes into diffusing a bomb that could easily level a street while being shot at from various locations.  And while no one comes of as a typical “hero”, all the soldiers come of as brave and respectable.  Their character flaws make them more identifiable.

I don’t feel this is one of the best war films ever made like some critics.  I think it gives good insight into why some soldiers are constantly willing to risk it all, something most war films ignore or cheapen, but there isn’t much emotional payoff.  I wasn’t overwhelmed by powerful emotions like in better war movies like Saving Private Ryan and Platoon.  I can’t even really say that I was surprised by anything that happened in this movie; in other words, if you have seen a average amount of Iraq war coverage both real and fictional than I doubt you’ll find much that is new here.  But still, for a gritty look at the daily grind of soldiers constantly in danger in Iraq, this is a solid entry.

The Hurt Locker:  B

(I thought I should add that after I wrote this review, The Hurt Locker went on to win best picture and director Oscars.  That is absolutely ridiculous.  Inglorious Basterds, Precious, Avatar (yes technical genius trumps an important story that is average), Up In The Air, Up, and District 9 were all better films.  Shame on the Academy.)