Intense, Gritty and A Gripping Drama - Check This One Out

Rating: 8/10 (2 August 2009)

The Hurt Locker has a lot going against it. One, it's a modern day war film and if the record shows, these films don't do well at this point in time. Two, it has a no name cast, full of those guys from that movie. Three, how entertaining can a movie be about a guy who disarms bombs. The Hurt Locker is a film that will surprise you on every level.
Jeremy Renner is the bomb expert, who doesn't like to play by the rules. If course, there is always one of them right? Instead of following orders, he likes to play games, take off his communication device and disrobe of his bomb safety gear. Why? Well, if he is going to die, he wants to die comfortable. His team consists of two men, Anthony Mackie, a by the book soldier who doesn't get along with Renner and Brian Geraghty, a young blood who is afraid of dying. They all seem to get on each others nerves, but to survive they must pull together and act as a team.
The film is intense and gritty. Shot hand held for a lot of the scenes, it puts you right beside the bomb. You feel the sweat and hear the ticking. The scenes themselves are done without music, relying more on the drama at hand told straight. Nothing to help build the emotion and this film doesn't need it. There is impending doom music, which to me sounded a bit like The Joker theme from The Dark Knight, but once we get to the disarming stage, it's just us and the bomb.
At first the film feels like it's going to be repetitive. We disarm a bomb, then we are back at base and chit chat, then we go back out there another day to disarm another bomb. Just when it feels like it becomes predictable, they pull the rug from under our feet. We are given scene of emotional depth and action round-up. Don't think for a second all the intense scenes involve bombs.
I've enjoyed Renner is everything he's done and it's nice to see him front and centre here. He plays the 'wild man' part perfectly. Mackie plays the straight man yearning for more. Both these guys have played men in uniform before. Renner with both Swat and 28 weeks later, Mackie in Eagle Eye. There are a few small roles filled out by Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and Guy Pearce. Lost fans can see Evangeline Lilly, as Renner's wife. She is given next to nothing in this film and is merely there for more backstory to Renner.
I really enjoyed this flick, Bigelow has a hit here. My only complaint is the run time. It's a bit long. There are scenes here and there that could be a lot shorter and seem almost totally out of place, along with some sub-plots that don't always work out. On a whole, this film works and is one of the best of this year.