a suspenseful war movie riddled with sadness and desperation

Rating: 8/10 (25 March 2010)

The Hurt Locker is something of a rarity, feature war movie set in Iraq that actually works, even though it doesn't tell anything new. Director Kathryn Beigelow (Strange Days) conters on a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict. Scriptwriter Mark Boal was a member of such a team and although the story is said to be entirely fictional, one can't stop wondering if there are any autobiographical elements. Boal's script is unpredictable and challenging offering many unexpected twists and turns. It doesn't try to tell the story, but presents us only with daily routines of the squad entirely doomed with tragic unpredictability. I've always considered Bigelow as a splendid director. In The Hurt Locker her direction is flawlessly detached when she examines the conflicts between the soldiers and effectively polished when she deals with suspense-ridden sequences. The acting is another highlight. Jeremy Renner as indifferent to death, yet vulnerable Staff Sergeant James gives a complex performance, perhaps the best in his career. Anthony Mackie and Brian Garaghty are totally believable as well. The movie quite effectively shows how the relations between these three soldiers change in the course of time. To conclude, The Hurt Locker is a suspenseful war movie riddled with sadness and desperation. It deserves to be seen.