The Hurt Locker

From the opening scenes of this film it is apparent that we have signed up for a nail-biting, day-in-the-life of an American soldier in war-torn Iraq. We’re following a group in Iraq that disarms or safely detonates bombs that have been found on roadsides, in cars, or strapped to unwilling participants. Our main protagonist is Staff Sergeant William James who blasts into the squad as CO and doesn’t mind taking extreme risks or risking the life of his men. He’s a renegade in every sense of the word. And we love watching him, because he has balls. Plan and simple.

In sharp contrast to other war films of late, The Hurt Locker doesn’t become too self-aware in regards to political undertones and beating the audience over the head with a contrived message. We are merely given a backstage pass to see what happens day-in and day-out. And for me it was much more effective than films like Body of Lies, The Kingdom, or Stop-Loss.

I especially love the perpetual feeling of urgency, uneasiness, and pending-endangerment that Kathryn Bigelow successfully transfers to the viewers in almost every scene throughout the film. It’s like that moment where we know the last thread on the rope is going to give way and our hero is going to come falling down to his demise. It sets the tone for the film and coincides nicely with the pacing I thought.

At the end of it all we are yet again reminded that war is a drug. One that many can never get out of their system, so hope of living a normal life and picking out cereal at a supermarket is the true foreign language to them. A higher-level view would reveal that war changes everyone it touches.

Rating: 8/10