The Hurt Locker (2008-09) - War is a Drug! Kathryn Bigelow was So Right!

Rating: 8/10 (17 January 2012)

Winner of 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 2009, "The Hurt Locker" has been a highly-acclaimed underrated war film, directed masterfully by Kathryn Bigelow, who coincidentally is the ex-wife to James Cameron, who directed "Avatar" a year later. "The Hurt Locker" starts off with a three-man United States Army EOD team during the Iraq War, and their 365-day rotation is about to be completed. The whole movie is a cat-and-mouse game through Iraq, where anything can be a deadly bomb. This movie has its slight disadvantages, but this is still one of 2009's best films. Director Kathryn Bigelow definitely deserved her Oscar win for directing this fine piece of work. It's almost hard to believe that a woman can actually make a war movie like this. She had a perfect vision of what the movie should be, and she really made the audience feel like they are in the middle of Iraq. Stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty all portray powerful performances, and they really make the movie look realistic. From the fast-paced editing, the smooth cinematography, the dramatic score, and the excellent directing duty of Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker" really improves. But my problems with the film are kind of too thoughtful. This is 131 minutes too long, some of the war scenes were lacking, and just the main plot was a little slow. But, I just don't understand how this movie won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Mark Boal, when this type of script makes a movie that's not really a "writer film". But this is what kind of makes this movie good a little. I still really loved this film from beginning to end. I was on a thrill ride in Iraq, thanks to the unique and powerful directing of Kathryn Bigelow. "The Hurt Locker" also has powerful messages involving those innocent soldiers that gave their lives in Iraq, and to those with hopes of coming back home safe. This is how you make a great war film, where there is more to the story than just bombs that blow up all the time. This is a true bet for the Best Picture win in 2009. "The Hurt Locker", in my review, "a thrilling ride, unique and captivating".