An interesting story

Rating: 8/10 (26 June 2012)

After my year of convoy duty, I think I need to repeat a few of the concerns posted by vets about the content and portrayal of the military in this movie. It should be obvious that EOD does not roll this way: They do not run around, three guys in a humvee, responding to calls like frickin' plumbers. They do not leave the wire without everyone knowing where they're going and staying in constant contact with landowners (especially not to break into someone's house dressed with a gun in civilian clothes only to return back and be allowed to enter the base by lying about whorehouses). They do not take psychologists outside the wire on the spur of the moment, if ever. They do not end up out in the middle of nowhere with contractors, and form impromptu sniper teams. And on and on.
On the attitudes of the characters, the hyperactive pseudo-despair displayed by James' subordinates is almost as rare as James' own adrenaline driven pseudo-insanity. It does happen, but the vast majority of the time, that kind of personality is well-controlled in that environment, for reasons involving both straightforward tactical considerations and unit cohesion. Allowing this type of crazy to exist unbridled is a stupid way to run a military, and despite what you may have heard, the American military is most definitely not stupid. Also, colonels do not regularly talk to EOD sergeants and tell them they're 'hot sh*t!' while muscling with their rank. Just in case you didn't know. And I don't know why so many posters on here insist on saying that James is a staff sergeant. He's a sergeant first class. I will say that EOD is filled with ballsy soldiers who deal with fantastic pressure and do their jobs well. Those guys gave us our lives so often in theater that the symbol for their job really should be a green mushroom from Super Mario Brothers.
Now, I'm still giving this movie an 8 because it really is a good story and really does show some realities of the addiction to excitement that need to be shown. The characters are exaggerations, but not extreme ones. The filming and quality of direction are excellent. The tension is thicker than Campbell's Chunky Soup. The acting is very well done. I didn't care for Jeremy Renner before this movie, but his talent impressed throughout. Supporting cast was equally strong. Many of the details of being overseas are carefully portrayed here, and I can appreciate that. As a reflection of soldiers, it's too cynical and psychoanalytical in a sophomoric way to resound flawlessly and should be taken with a grain of salt. But as a movie, it's really good and I enjoyed it.