Rivals "Avatar" as THE best film of 2009!

Rating: 10/10 (11 January 2010)

"War is a drug," declares the caption on the opening scene of Kathryn Bigelow's masterpiece "The Hurt Locker", and this phrase (written by an American soldier in Iraq corresponding with the New York Times), in its four-word simplicity, summarizes perfectly and shockingly the premise behind this astounding film. Bigelow has gone beyond her trademark film "Near End", and has given us an even deeper and infinitely more intelligent film. Simply stated, "The Hurt Locker" is THE film about the Iraq war we've all been waiting for.
The film follows Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner, in a possible Academy Award-winning performance) who specializes in defusing bombs as he completes his mission period in Iraq, walking alongside his two specialist companions (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) in a hostile land where everyone is an enemy and where everything might be a bomb. Unlike his fellow teammates who go about their dangerous jobs with caution and with a terrifying proximity to death, James pursues his missions with such excitement; with such charisma and with such longing that we begin to understand how the soldier who said "war is a drug" was right. James craves the excitement and the sense of self-importance defusing bombs gives him, and he's THE best at doing it. He's untroubled by the danger; on the contrary, that's what makes his job all the more likable. But even though at first he seems like your typical savage-boy war hero, little by little he begins unveiling a deep and shockingly poignant personality, which he doesn't express through words but through his actions and facial expressions. This is a tough guy who's battling demons within himself and who's torn between life and excitement. This is a character unlike any you've ever seen before.
The film paints a painful, eye-opening and crude portrait of the war on Iraq. We see children used as body bombs, honest civilians used as suicide bombers, we see people gather around the place where James is trying to defuse a bomb against the clock, the faces of women and children expectant and entertained by the violence. We see a country torn by war to its very core; we see simply humans trying to survive with no hope whatsoever and no dreams to uphold. The action sequences are driven by an unbearable tension which makes you gasp in pain; this is definitely THE most suspenseful and tense film of the year. Bigelow has demonstrated in past films that she's an expert at creating tension by submerging her characters in difficult situations and stressing their sanity; with this new film, she turns this on to a sky-high level, not only putting the characters' sanity at stake but wrecking the audience's nerves. The film is violent, but not so much as other war films, and the horror and suspense is gathered from the drama unfolding between the characters. From the first sequence to the last, we find ourselves riveted to our seats, not able to believe our eyes.
The cinematography is excellent, it's fast and cuts to different scenes madly, taking in the entire environment and every single character on screen giving us a million different points of view and a sense of knowledge of the surroundings. The editing is savagely effective, and never does a scene linger too much or switches too fast- it's always precisely in tune with the emotions and the drama. The score is a cacophony of war sounds which heightens the tension even more and, like I said before, there will be moments when you'll believe you'll die from holding your breath so long. Add a pitch-perfect story written by Mark Boal (who also wrote "In the Valley of Ellah", another movie based on the Iraq war), and you've got yourself the best picture of the year! The film really has no flaws, and at two hours long it doesn't have a single uninvolving second. Bigelow has taken a intelligent and effective war story, added art and controversy, mixed in exorbitant levels of suspense and therefore created a true masterpiece which will be remembered among the best war films ever made. See it if you know what's good for you! Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!