Film Review

Rating: 8/10 (13 February 2014)

The movie "The Hurt Locker" is movie filled with action and drama. From the start director Kathryn Bigelow sets the tone with an army Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team attempting to detonate and Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The movie stars Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). The movie is about these three soldiers and their mission to dispose of/detonate IED's throughout Iraq. During the first mission and throughout the movie the team's resiliency is tested after finding out how differently one another do business. Throughout the film you get a since of each team members roll in the film. Staff Sergeant James' character is a "wild boy" from the start. He loves to do things his way regardless of protocol or how his team members fee and takes a lot of unnecessary risks. This causes conflict from the start and tests the team's resiliency. Sergeant Sanborn's character plays a roll of keeping the team together and plays by the rules. He does not our rank James but has no problem telling him what he's doing wrong or how he feels. His focus in the film is keeping everyone safe and getting the job done which causes lots of conflicts with Staff Sergeant James "wild boy" style. Specialist Eldridge character is a low ranking soldier who does what he's told and has no authority. He very unsure of himself and shows a lot of fear. Bigelow does a great job with camera angles throughout the film. The audience gets a glimpse of the soldiers point of view, individuals watching the soldiers from different angles (roof tops, vehicles, etc) point of view, and even robots assisting with bomb detonations view point. These points of views give the audience good insight on the challenges and dangers the team faces daily. The director also does a great job with the sound throughout the film. Everything from the weapons used in the film, the sounds of the military vehicles, and even the soldier's footsteps while running grabs your attention and has you focused on the action throughout the movie. "The Hurt Locker" follows in the footsteps of other great war films such as "Black Hawk Down", "We were Soldiers", and "Saving Private Ryan". All these movies give you an in depth view of the dangers soldiers face and how resilient they are. Bigelow takes it one step further by successfully giving you the point of view of an EOD team which is very different than many other war films. The action packed film will have you at the edge of your seat from start to finish.