A lesson in how our soldiers can be affected by war.

Rating: 6/10 (21 September 2019)

The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow is a film about war, more directly about bomb technicians in war. The movie follows the exploits of Staff Sergeant William James played by Jeremy Renner and his new partners in Iraq played by Anthony Mackie-Sergeant JT Sanborn and Brian Geraghty-Specialist Owen Eldridge. In this film, Sgt. James arrives after the death of the former squad leader. James, an extremely experienced bomb tech, seems to revel in danger and leads his squad into dangerous and sometimes reckless situations. The other two try to reign in Sgt. James, while trying to survive their last 30 days in the war zone. James meanwhile is almost obsessed with disarming the IED's he comes across. Like a knight out to fight a dragon, he throws himself into the task. The character saves untold lives with his heroic efforts but at what cost? We see this soldier as he struggles, dealing with the adrenaline addiction of doing his job while finding himself unable to relate or function in regular society. He all but abandons his girlfriend and child and returns to the war zone as if he was home. He even struggles to interact with his squad members and seems to keep distant from them.
In this film, Director Kathryn Bigelow uses several techniques designed to enhance the drama of the scenes. Slow-motion, for example, is used near the end of the film as Sgt. James is attempting to free a man in a bomb vest. As he runs the explosion is released, and the director allows us to see the shock-wave of the blast move in slow motion as it overtakes and knocks Sgt. James down and unconscious. Then a real-time view of the same explosion, which is accompanied by the sound of the device detonating. The technique increases the viewers own adrenaline and moves you to the edge of your seat. You can also observe the use of sound played from time to time in slow motion. There are sounds of air puffs as a weapon is fired and the projectile leaves the rifle and travels out. The quick transitions from scene to scene seem to change the pace of the film and shows the human toll war takes on soldiers. This film is like the film American Sniper, the 2014 film directed by Clint Eastwood. The similar locations, use of sound, and slow-motion techniques used in both films. In the underlining theme of war, both films show courageous men who take a personal toll after being exposed to extreme violence while in combat. The Hurt Locker is not like every other war movie in that there are few scenes where the "enemy" seen in battles are killed. It does, however, expose us to how and maybe even why PTSD is a prevalent problem in the military. The Hurt Locker is worth the time to view, but know you must see the more profound point in this film. War is hard and affects everyone the soldier, their family, their teammates, all carry the burdens of combat. Brave men and woman risk much in the name of freedom.