Oscar nomination worthy, but not Oscar winning worthy

Rating: 8/10 (26 January 2010)

To appreciate the value of "The Hurt Locker" you must overlook the military inaccuracies (do you think it's that easy for a movie crew to get access to the details regarding US Army logistics, armament and others?) and judge it by its artistic value as a movie. Its main focus isn't depicting the exact details of a EOD unit in Baghdad, but more of creating 3 relatively different characters that have the role of pretty much illustrating certain situations that a presumed military would go through.
The movie is not very abundant of pure action scenes, but it still keeps you connected due to a tension build-up. The very best examples are the stand-off and the attempt of disarming the bomb on the Iraqi civilian. Good editing and cinematographics contribute to that tension and "The Hurt Locker" could be a winning bet for the Oscar in those categories. Not to be overlooked is also the sound, frequently adding more tension and suspense to the scene. Acting is good tending to very good especially the performance of Anthony Mackie. Jeremy Renner has, of course, been the critics favorite, but certainly not undeserved. It took him several years to get a leading mainstream role, but from now on I'm sure we'll be hearing of him more often (his next movie is Ben Affleck's "The Town"). A downfall regarding the film is the weak plot. Although it is to appreciate the intention of just depicting the 2004 army-invaded Baghdad through the perspective of a EOD team, I feel that more substance could have been added to the storyline, maybe more development of Renner's character. Nevertheless, during the movie you will almost for sure overlook this slight flaw and enjoy the picture.
All in all, "The Hurt Locker" is a good film, not as a drama war movie like "Saving Private Ryan" nor as a action war movie like "Rambo", but it's still worth the money. Generally good directing make it a candidate for the title of "best movie of the year" but it still has several bad features that should prevent it from winning that title. So it all comes down to subjectivism and taste, as well as competition.