Movie Review: The Hurt Locker (2009)
Get ready for an intense pulse pounding actioner
Photo: Summit Entertainment
Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker is intense to the point it is occasionally exhausting. Examining the lives of an elite Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal team in Baghdad, the viewer is immediately thrown into the action with an opening sequence forcing you to readjust the way you approach the rest of the film. Preconceptions about who will live and who will die are thrown out the window just as easily as clichés are a forgotten memory. All Bigelow leaves you with are the sweltering desert heat and enough explosives to wipe out a city block… and then some.
At the center of it all is Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) who steps in as team leader of a small bomb disposal counterforce, which includes Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Where things get interesting is in the style with which James works. Operating with a specific set of skills, combined with an aloof approach to bomb disposal causes plenty of concern for both Eldridge and Sanborn, adding additional tension to an already intense situation.
The cast includes Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly and David Morse. For more information on this film including pictures, trailers and a detailed synopsis choose from the following menu.
Review
"The Hurt Locker" is a Summit Entertainment release, directed by Kathryn Bigelow and is rated R for war violence and language.
Using four handheld cameras and teaching a lesson in sound design, The Hurt Locker is an immersive experience placing you squarely into the action. Whether you are strapping on 80 pounds of protective gear in 100-degree heat before walking the 300 yards toward a pile of rubble concealing an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or looking through a rifle scope at a group of snipers with their sights set on ending your life, this is an intense ride no matter how you frame it.
On top of the overall adrenaline rush The Hurt Locker delivers, what I appreciated most was the fact it never preached at the audience. So many war-based films nowadays feel the need to hammer home a message as opposed to letting the audience get what they need out of the film themselves. While each frame of The Hurt Locker is filled with sound, none of it is dedicated to unnecessary dialogue or exposition.
The tragedies of war are no secret and this movie brings plenty of them to the forefront, but at the same time it doesn't treat you as if you are an idiot and can't figure things out on your own. This is a testament to the director for her confidence in the audience, herself and her actors as they were able to do with actions what so many films fall back on with words. After all, when you are attempting to disarm a bomb or making sure your teammates head isn't blown off while doing so, you hardly have time to reflect on what you are doing in that position. Bigelow allows for a few small moments of personal reflection, but she never relies on flashbacks or long speeches to tell the story.
What Bigelow does rely on more than anything else is the performance of Jeremy Renner who couldn't have possibly known what he was in for when he signed on for this film, but I am sure the 38-year-old actor walked away knowing he had just taken part in something that should certainly benefit his career. I'm not sure how much potential there is for an Oscar nomination for his work, but I wouldn't leave him out of the conversation just yet.
The only thing I could have done without is what felt like an out of the way scene involving the capture of one of the team members resulting in an injury. The scene seemed out of place and like it had been added in an attempt to increase the drama, which wasn't necessary at that point, but it's a minor quibble when we are talking about all that surrounds it.
So strap in with what is likely to be the best action film of the summer. It's a dose of reality surrounded by unanticipated insanity. To predict the next move is damn near impossible and each cast member carries his own weight from start to finish. If you aren't walking away from The Hurt Locker feeling like you have just survived the gauntlet I would be truly surprised. It's affecting, exciting and altogether entertaining.
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RIIIGHT. Make an adrenaline-fueled action movie set in an immoral and unpopular war.
Why not make an adrenaline-fueled action movie set in Vietnam and see what happens. (sarcasm)
It was a solid movie. It didn't preach to the audience what we already know. It's about the soldiers in Iraq, not the motivations of the government or why we shouldn't be in Iraq.
A good Iraq movie. Who would have thunk it?
Immoral war? I think you need to speak to some troops who have been there. My father is a missionary to the troops and, while there are some who don't want to be there, I can tell you the VAST majority of them know what they are doing is right. Ridding the world of a mass murderer and freeing an oppressed people wrong? Just keep watching CNN…
@ DarkKnighFAN12:
Dont watch Clinton News Network (CNN) if you want REAL facts about the troops. Watch Fox News they usually get the story right.
Yeah, Fox News… fair and balanced. Comedy central does a better job of reporting news.
@DarkKnightFAN12:
You should read the internet more.
Anyway, back to the movie. I think that this movie is excellent. Rarely have I ever been so on the edge of my seat. I think it all depended on Renner's performance. He had to make his character believable and yet someone the audience could relate to enough to actually take an interest in. He walked a fine line, and I think he succeeded. Anthony Mackie is good, but I really liked Geraghty. I'm also really gratified to learn that a woman directed this. Action movies aren't restricted to male directors anymore.
A hideous television movie, with more than 5 Oscars won by the very limited undeservedly director Kathryn Bigelow's, who has sold and delivered prostitute in Hollywood to win the Oscar.
Hollywood delivered six Oscars. for this disgraceful film has hit rock bottom.
The Oscar was given to "Avatar".
And this crap movie
Did anyone truly enjoy the movie? Regardless if you thought it was good or not, did anyone sit down and ENJOY it? It has no plot, hardly any character development and although I know that a lot of you feel glad that Bigelow wanted you to infer what you could about the characters from what you saw or whatever, was anyone truly ENTERTAINED by this movie?
It was very dull. It was obvious Renner wasn't dying so I didn't feel the suspense. I feel so alienated by movies like this and Paranormal Activity that are universally accepted, but I just don't "get it". Paranormal Activity was NOT SCARY AT ALL and The Hurt Locker was not ENTERTAINING at all.
Renner's performance was great, but the movie wasn't. Lots of testosterone and lots of illogical scenes and weird subplots while no major plot itself.
I guess I just don't know about movies.
I thought the movie was incredible and was very, very entertained by it. It's a masterpiece with an excellent plot. Comparing it to Paranormal Activity is a little silly. I agree that Paranormal Activity is complete crap, but The Hurt Locker is filmmaking at its finest.