War is a drug. Use it wisely.
Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) are members of a bomb-disposal unit in Baghdad and currently, they’re reeling after the death of one of their fellow soldiers (Guy Pearce). But there’s not much time to sit around and mope, and before long, in struts Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), who by his own count has disarmed 873 bombs and is a bit of a daredevil. It’s something that Sanborn and Eldridge aren’t quite ready to get used to, especially after having just suffered a serious loss, but they decide to stick with it, for as long as the missions are set. But as the missions continue to get deadlier and deadlier, the more and more Sanborn and Eldridge begin to clash with James – he doesn’t quite care, however. He’s too busy diffusing bombs and throwing all sorts of protocols out the window with reckless abandon. It’s something that may not only prove to be his undoing, not just as a soldier, but as a human, and it’s why Sanborn and Eldridge are absolutely terrified of what’s to come next. You know, as if the Iraq War itself wasn’t already scary enough.
Surprisingly enough, throughout its two-hour-and-ten-minute run-time, the Hurt Locker never seems to make one single political statement. It would be easy, too, considering that it was a war with more than a few sketchy reasons for existing, starting, and continuing on to take on greater new heights, but director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal are much smarter than to get too bogged down in that kind of stuff. After all, when everyone out there in the mainstream media is doing it, then really, what’s the point of beating a dead horse?
Instead, the Hurt Locker stays absolutely closed-in and focused on the soldiers, what hell they go through, how they survive, what gets them through each and every day, and just why the hell they need this war in the first place. Some do it for the sole sake of fighting for their country, meanwhile, others do it for the sole sake that they have nothing else better to do at home, so why not pick up some guns and shoot down baddies, eh? Once again, these aren’t necessarily ground-breaking statements being made on the parts of Bigelow, or Boal, but they do help us grow closer and closer to this movie as it goes on, continues to get more dangerous, and yes, depict that war is hell, no matter where it’s fought.
Case closed.
And as far as the war itself, the Hurt Locker is a total thrill-ride. Having already seen it three times, I can easily say that the movie doesn’t lose its tension, or even its element of surprise, because Bigelow just knows how to film this sort of action. While there’s a lot of shaky-cam, and chopping, and cutting, and editing, and fidgeting, it still feels reasonable – it puts us in the mind and state of these soldiers while they too are in this battlefield and it helps us get a better sense of just what sort of electricity may be running through the air. It’s basically a docudrama, but with really good performances and action that somehow, still continues to shock us, the more brutal it can get.
Which is to say that, of course, the Hurt Locker is an anti-war flick. But then again, it’s also not really making a statement, either. Through these soldiers, like James, like Sanborn, like Eldridge, Bigelow and Boal are trying to get down deep into the root of the war and what the real costs are. We see so much of the big-wig politicians on TV speaking about the war and how the enemy needs to be taken down, but is they who are in the battlefield? Is it they who sign up? Or if not them, what about their fellow family-members who may meet the criteria for being soldiers in the Army?
Once again, nothing new here, but it still deserves to be said and noted, especially in a war-thriller that has way more on its mind than just thrills, chills, bangs, booms, and shots fired.
Because it really is, surprisingly, a character-study of these three soldiers who, over time, get to know and trust one another, a little more. They may not love each other, but that’s sort of the point, it seems; Sanborn and James go throughout the whole movie holding a sort of disdain for one another, but when push comes to shove and their lives are in-stake, they come together and yes, kick some ass. It’s what soldiers do best and it’s nice to see them get the salute they so obviously deserve, having to pick up the pieces and the dirt from what the politicians leave for them.
It’s a shame, but yep, it’s reality. When will it end?
Consensus: Hard-hitting, brutal, thrilling, and above all else, thoughtful in its large presentation, the Hurt Locker is a much smarter Iraqi War film that honors those who fight, day in and day out, with all sorts of danger surrounding them.
9 / 10
Photos Courtesy of: Aceshowbiz
Dan the Man's Movie Reviews 
Great review of a brilliant film. The suspense throughout is so well-earned and the characters, while damaged and arguably fighting an unjust war, really gain our empathy in their unenviable situation. As you say Renner is probably wasted in the Marvel films as he has such an intensity and world-weary charisma. Even the scenes where he comes home on leave you can feel the pain of his characters hurt.