A taste of modern-day Iraq through the eyes of our soldiers

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2009)

"The Hurt Locker" has been one of the hardest movies for me to find. It didn't come out to any theaters in my area. Now that it has been nominated for three golden globes, and has received mostly positive reviews, I just had to see it. I finally watched it today, online, and I have to say it was no disappointment.
I really didn't know what to expect from this movie and I'll not that it isn't the typical war movie that's either pro-war or anti-war, nor is it about honor, duty, respect, or isolation and madness. To sum up "The Hurt Locker", it is about the modern-day life in Iraq, shown through the eyes of three members of an EOD team. They are put to the test as they spend the remaining 38 days of their "rotation" together as they encounter some impossible odds and try not to lose it both from the horrors of war and the tension between each other. I did not recognize many of the actors, which seems fitting, because if an actor like Mel Gibson or Nicholas Cage starred in it, I would expect a full-blown action flick. "The Hurt Locker" is not an action movie, but a drama thriller. The film felt more real because of this. Each actor did an impressive job in their roles, never overacting or just blandly reading the script. Jeremy Renner as SSgt. Will James may portray the typical war hero, cocky, hotheaded, and reckless, but even so, his character is not perfect, and as his service in Iraq continues, he becomes vulnerablerealizing he is just a man. Renner displays this wonderfully. I'm surprised he didn't get a golden globe nom.
In addition to the performances, Barry Ackroyd's cinematography is sweeping. He makes the movie in such a way that it almost feels like a documentary made by someone who was actually there. This includes a little bit of the "shaky camera syndrome", quick zoom ins and outs, and occasional focus issues. This may seem like sloppy camera work, but it is intentional, and it helps put the viewer right in the center of Baghdad.
I also give kudos for the film editor and sound designers who add in helping make such an intense and realistic film. On top of that, the music, which is seldom, helps out in adding suspense, and is never overdone. Regarding director Kathryn Bigelow, I've not seen much of her work, but she has talent and balls (specifically for the fact that this movie was shot in Jordan, just miles from Iraq) for making such an intense, suspenseful, and gripping war film that is not preachy nor is about a moral lesson. She shows the war as it is in Iraq, which includes the chaos of gun battles, the paranoia and racial tensions between the U.S. soldiers and the innocent Iraqi civilians.
Though I thoroughly enjoy "The Hurt Locker", I have to say that it has become a common trend that some director has to do a film about the war in Iraq every single year such as: "Jarhead", "In the valley of Elah", and "Stoploss" to name a few. This movie really isn't anything new. I will honestly not remember this movie for years to come like "Avatar" or even "Inglourious Basterds". But because this film is so well done in acting, film-making, and pace, I won't damage it's score. 4/4