Engrossing and highly suspenseful

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2017)

'The Hurt Locker' is an engrossing, tense war film focusing on the daily lives and duties of a bomb disposal squad during the Iraq war. This is easily one of the most engaging and suspenseful war films of recent years, down mainly to the high risk tasks the soldiers are undertaking, but also due to the skillful way in which their story is told on screen.
What sets this film apart from others in the war genre is its focus on the characters, the personalities and relationship with one another. This has been attempted in some war films before, with varying levels of success, but I thought 'The Hurt Locker' did it as well as any other in the genre. The excellent character development makes the viewing experience even more tense, creating a strong connection between the audience and the characters on screen and making us actually care for what happens to them in the end.