Hurt Some More

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2009)

War movies have never been my cup of tea, but I decided to give 'The Hurt Locker' a shot (after enormously high ratings and after watching the horrid 'Stop-Loss.') I wasn't disappointed. It had excellent acting – Renner should be nominated for an Oscar, completely believable surroundings, sounds and action and mostly, it was on-the-edge suspenseful. Granted, 1-2 deaths were absolutely predictable (the one in the beginning was such a set up, I unfortunately thought of 'Cliffhanger's opening,) the rest of the solders, you have no idea if they'll live or die, and that's the point of this movie/war. I truly felt as if I was there, and sadly, I had to compare this to my own job that I don't particularly care for. The obvious "Okay, I guess my job/life ain't that bad" thoughts surfaced. We have a ('Lethal Weapon's Martin Riggs) newcomer/replacement (Renner) after the previously mentioned death of a bomb expert dies. His cowboy, caution-to-the-wind attitude not only upsets his comrades, they want to put an end to it. All the while they spend most of their time deciphering between who's a friendly and who's an insurgent. I don't think any recent war movie I've seen truly made me feel even more respect (although, I felt I already had the highest respect for the U.S. armed forces) and more gratitude that I live in a country so completely unlike any Middle Eastern country. Definitively see 'Locker.' Despite the hate it shows humans show other humans, it really makes you appreciate life all the more. Side note: coincidentally enough, both 'Stop-Loss' and 'Locker' were both modern-war films, directed by women and showed a true enemy: man. However, while you can take 'Locker' serious and learn something from it, the same can't be said by the "MTV Movie"/music video 'Loss.'