A good action film

Rating: 2/10 (9 April 2010)

Kathryn Bigelow is a good director, in the sense that she has made some good action and thriller films. I can still feel the adrenalin rush of "Point Break" which I saw as a kid.
In "Hurt Locker" she delivers a rather good war film. It's tight (though a bit too long in parts) well acted and has the kind of finishing expected from an A grade Hollywood product. It certainly compares very well to other Iraq War movies in terms of budget and content. It also goes easy on the moral aspects that we have come to expect from war movies. The fact that it has won multiple Oscars is a testament to the overall quality of the film.
But despite all the Oscar hype, it remains a good war action film and nothing more than that. I am sure there were many better pictures made in 2009 on various subject matters that deserved the Best Picture Oscar much more than this film. I certainly find no problems with the awards for sound, editing etc as it indeed is a very technically sound film. But there is certainly nothing extraordinary about this movie. The story and plot is just an excuse to show the main players acting out their roles. Character development is also minimal. For all its technical brilliance it is poorly researched, especially in the way it portrays a US Army EOD team operating. Tension is primarily created by bringing in big name actors like Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce and then kill them swiftly. A kind of 'shock and awe' on the part of the director. The overall tone of the lead character as an action junkie who gets bored at home doing routine tasks like shopping, takes this film in the realms of a US Army recruitment video.
The message from the Oscars is pretty clear, US public needs reassurances that their Army is doing well in their current campaigns and Hurt Locker provides just that.