A Masterpiece War Film

Rating: Null/10 (6 March 2010)

Hurt Locker, The (2008)
**** (out of 4)
Incredibly suspenseful and masterfully directed tale of an elite Army bomb squad serving a stint in Iraq where their lives are constantly at risk. A lot of this drama is centered around team leader Sgt. James (Jeremy Renner) who, as the opening quotations explains, is addicted to the dangers of war and it has become a drug to him. This is an exceptional little gem that will certainly go down as one of the greatest war movies ever made for several reasons. I think the greatest thing this film does is that it doesn't show war as some party-time exercise, which is what a lot of movies do. We see our troops killing during the day and then having parties at night. A lot of other war movies also like to take some sort of political stand but that doesn't happen here either. What's so important about this film is that it has the guts not to take any type of stand and it also clearly shows how incredibly brave these men are in doing what has to be one of the most dangerous jobs out there. Bigelow's direction is so perfectly done that she manages to drain every ounce of suspense each set up. The opening sequence of the film perfectly sets you up for everything that's going to follow as the bomb expert tries to defuse the bomb but this isn't the only threat because some civilians have started to gather around. The way Bigelow milks this scene from the suspense of the bomb as well as the suspense of having to watch everything that's going on around the bomb was masterfully done and I really can't think of another war film that put you in the middle of danger and really makes you feel the dangers of the job. Another terrific sequence is when the men run into some other American soldiers when a sniper begins to fire on them. Most films, including great ones, would turn this into a major shoot out but that doesn't happen here. Instead, this sequence runs for quite a while and it again shows the dangers and outright torture it would have to be going through this. Seeing the men burning up under the sun but not being able to move once again put you right there in showing the tortures to survive. The relationship between James and Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is also handled quite well as the love/hate thing is certainly there and it's never exploited. Instead we get to see a real relationship and everything between the two comes off very real and most importantly it comes off human. Renner's performance is a terrific one as he fits this role so perfectly that you'd think you were watching a documentary of a real guy. He gives the type of performance that doesn't need words because his body gestures and his eyes can tell you everything he's feeling and thinking. Mackie, Guy Pearce and David Morse are all terrific in their roles as well. I would question the search for the kid in the later part of the film but outside of this THE HURT LOCKER is near flawless in its execution. The majority of the credit should certainly go to Bigelow because it's not often that I'm this impressed with a director doing their magic and really creating something special. I'm sure many people, myself included, asked if we really needed yet another war film but the answer was yes because we get to see something original and unlike anything we've seen before.