Cool sounding title (however unrelated). Needs better research/writing.

Rating: 5/10 (5 March 2010)

I will admit that the cinematography in the movie had some cool sequences. I enjoyed that aspect of the movie. The acting was good, but none of it stood out from anything else I've seen this year and I'm not entirely sure Jeremy Renner did well enough to stand out from other actors to earn an Oscar Nomination. This movie does entertain as an Action Thriller, but I cannot take it seriously as a Drama. I know for a fact that whoever wrote the script didn't do much in the sense of research. I'm sure they read a whole lot of first hand experiences from EOD Officers and NCO's, but not much on how operations in Iraq are carried out. It appeared to me that the writer was banking on the US civilian not having any clue on how the military works in a combat zone and then took certain liberties to turn a real world job into a super thriller movie. Yes, this movie is a thriller, but certainly not a drama because the characters don't act like real American soldiers. For the record, "Specialist" is a rank in the Army. I've never heard any Officer or Sergeant refer to a Specialist as just "Specialist". It's always the Soldiers last name. Here is why I can't consider this movie a Drama and take it seriously:
-Partial Spoiler-
A speeding taxi driver doesn't stop for a road block of two HMMWV's (humvies) with crew served weapons (machine guns) mounted on the turrets and shouting soldiers (the driver almost runs a soldier over) but he does stop for a man in a padded suit standing in an intersection with a 9mm Beretta pointing at him Seriously? The driver and his car would have been Swiss cheese before he got within 20 meters of those HMMWV's. The movie takes numerous liberties like this to produce a thriller affect. I feel if you sacrifice reality for thrill and suspense, then you are making an action thriller, not an action drama. The technical aspect of EOD could be accurate, I know nothing about that, but as far as making an honest representation of the Army and how it operates, the writer came up short, or didn't even try at all. It's a joke to me that this movie was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture (there must not be a lot of good movies to choose from this year). I still think the best theatric representation of how the Army works is Black Hawk Down. Granted, it's a different type of warfare, but it's a good example of what an Action Drama is, and what The Hurt Locker is trying to be, but is not. I would have given this movie a 4, but I gave it a 5 because the cinematography is that good.
SFCs don't sneak off base at night and hold people at gunpoint, then walk back on base without any kind of punishment or investigation.
NCOs don't punch their superiors in the face without and article 15, loss of rank or a general court marshal, not to mention what James did to deserve it.
The movie portrays these actions as if they would be common place in the Army.
-End Spoiler-
I'm sure a lot of people like this movie for the affects and suspense, but I want them to know that it's very far from real (obviously no one goes to the movies for raw reality, they want to be lied to, at least a little bit) combat zone action. It's okay to like this movie if it entertains you, but it certainly isn't Oscar Worthy. I believe the story and the script sacrifice too much reality and accuracy to even be considered. I'm well aware that movies aren't meant to be perfectly accurate. My point is that there is hardly any reality for me to agree with its nomination. If people think this is a good Drama, it makes me feel like Americans are absolutely clueless as to what a soldier's life is like while deployed. This movie gets them no closer. Actually, this movie probably is a perfect example of how the common person thinks an OIF deployment is like, and that is sad.
I'm certain that if you ask any soldier who's been to Iraq (or any other deployment for that matter) if this movie is an honest representation of what they've done for their country, they would quickly tell you that it's a worthless army movie (I'm cleaning that up for you.) The fact that it received the positive reviews that it did is an insult to the real EOD soldiers and the soldiers who have to wait for them to show up on scene.