Exceptional Movie about the experience of war

Rating: 8/10 (30 July 2009)

This is the best movie I have seen this year, and one of the best war movies I have ever seen. Kathryn Bigalow has presents a tightly constructed unrelenting look at the pressure and perverse thrill of living with death as a constant companion.
Oddly enough, the experience of this movie for me was very much like 'Das Boat', the German WWII movie that made the viewer feel the sweaty claustrophobia of being under attack on a submarine.
The movie follows an American bomb squad in Iraq as they investigate and attempt to diffuse bombs and IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in the field. A new squad leader poses some problems for the group, but this review is concerned about the plot.
This movie does two things as good or better than any war movie I've seen. One, it gets you into the mind-space of going to work each day in an environment where a single misunderstood detail can end your life.
The second great accomplishment of this movie is that it shows how impossible it is to live in this environment and not be changed by it. Some experience the flip side of fear as the adrenaline rush of being alive. But for some that adrenaline clouds their judgment, and makes make them seek that which they fear the most.
An unforgettable film, highly recommended.