Gripping, yet wildly overestimated thriller

Rating: 7/10 (15 February 2015)

Heat of combat, Iraq war, we are introduced to a bomb disposal team of 3 who are in the middle of action. We are thoroughly guided through scenes of just how dangerous and unpredictable this job is and how much precaution and observation needs to be taken at each step. This is amplified by the death of the team leader, who goes on to physically disarm the bomb only to get blown up by a triggered detonator set up by an unforeseen enemy. This scene provides a great contrast going forward, when a new sergeant, James, takes over the squad. He will be conducting similar physical disarming's on a daily basis, even unnecessarily at times, which greatly adds to the heroic recklessness of his character, brilliantly portrayed by Jeremy Renner (maybe the only deserved Oscar nomination).
Throughout the rest of the movie we get to know the squad better, which now consists of team leader James, sergeant Sanborn and a less experienced specialist Owen Eldridge. Both Eldridge and Sanborn are depicted just how one would expect from soldiers in their line of work – human - they are terrified, scared for their lives, extremely cautious and counting down the days to dispatch.
In retrospect James is a true, real life hero. No matter how dangerous the situation might be, he will dive into it head first. We see James almost die while trying to save innocent people – an Iraq civilian and earlier an Iraq child that he was careless enough to bond with. He disarms numerous bombs, sometimes without even wearing a protective suit. On one occasion we learn that his total was somewhere around '857' disarmed bombs. James proves a great leader too and even though his fearless tactics are –at heart- resented by his teammates – they definitely realize and respect his experience, courage and authority. James, in the best way he can, really cares for his team, but in the same way as a hero tends to care for those that need help and guidance – he seems to have this never ending desire and drive to help.
This desire for some reason does not echo at James' home, where he has a wife and a child waiting. His wife seems to accept John as he is, in the mere amount of time that is devoted to that, and realize that there is nothing she can do to change that. And maybe no one can.
Unfortunately there is not enough intimacy with the characters. A lot of time is devoted to gripping and suspenseful combat scenes and the portrayal of characters through these scenes, however the dialog's remain relatively dull and to the point. Bigelow doesn't let us really dive into any of the characters fully. We want to know more about James' past, what kind of man he was before the army, and what really motivates him. We are eager to find out Sanborn's past and what mistakes he has done in his life. Kathryn Bigelow only leaves us making educated guesses. And as such, this movie does not succeed.
This movie is about real life war heroes that unfortunately no one will probably ever hear or read about. And as such this move succeeds on a thrillingly patriotic kind of way, yet it fails to give us a full, detailed look into the human aspects of these heroes, which makes for a very unfulfilled feeling at the end.