a fresh take on a war movie...fantastic

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2009)

"the hurt locker" is one of those movies that really just comes out of no where. in this day and age, its rare to see a movie without a massive advertising campaign and whatnot.
the film follows the three men in a squad stationed in Iraq. early on in the film, the team's leader (a great guest appearance by guy Pearce...loved him in "memento" and i was happy to see him on the big screen albeit briefly) gets replaced by sergeant will James played by Jeremy Renner ("swat", "The Unusuals", "28 weeks later").
from the get-go, "the hurt locker" mercilessly lets the audience know that the movie is very realistic. several different factors account for this realism. one is the dialogue. this is less of a dialogue driven film than it is an action driven film (of sorts...i'll get to the action later) but the dialogue is constantly appropriately delivered and it's simple yet effective. the characters (and the film as a whole) is very human. next is the film's look. there is no evident computer generation used which is an breath of fresh air to say the least. it's look is gritty, intimate, and it's style of cinematography lends itself well to that feel. it's pretty much all hand-held but not like the bourne movies. you can actually see what's going on. camera zoom is utilized very well and artistically throughout the film as it is not overdone and works perfectly in a warzone setting. there's even some slo-mo here and there (not "zack Snyder here and there") and that also adds to the overall look and feel of the movie.
perhaps the film's greatest strength is the thick layer of tension that it is so effortlessly and smoothly applied to most of the movie. it truly is remarkable. much of what accounts for this tension also accounts for the realistic feel (namely the minimalistic use of a score and the intimacy and grittiness of the cinematography), but what can be most credited for the film's tension are the main characters: will James and his squad mates sergeant sanborn (anthony mackie) and specialist Eldridge (brian geraghty). sergeant James, a bomb diffuser, is thrown into situations that are rooted in reality and totally believable, but at the same time they are extremely terrifying, haunting, and even disturbing at times. Jeremy Renner does a brilliant job of portraying James as a character who can totally keep his cool while being surrounded by bombs that can kill his and many others. this trait is once again not overdone and utilized well. James isn't Rambo or john mcclane. you just get the impression that he's damn good at his job and a spectacular soldier. when the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting for a bomb to explode and even the character on screen is calm, it significantly adds to the level of tension in the film.
with all that being said, "the hurt locker" did have a few issues that were really only present in the end of the film. in the final act, the film seemed to lose focus a little bit. it starts to stray from the bomb diffusals that were used in lieu of major action setpieces and firefights and begins to lose a little bit of its originality and tension. the movie quickly shifts from being about bravo team's missions while getting to know the characters to being about the characters that happen to be in Iraq fighting a war. fortunately, once this shift occurs it isn't constant; the rest of the film just feels a little bit spotty. there are moments when the final act drags, but there are a couple moments that top some of the beginning/middle's most powerful ones.
overall, "the hurt locker" is a fantastic film that takes a fresh look at the warzones of Iraq with constant tension, gritty realism, and a great main character. it stumbles slightly in its final act with a lack of focus and questionable character motives.