The Hurt Locker (2009)
Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker is simply one of the best films I have seen in the past 5 years, no question. I honestly can’t say enough good things about how well this flick was made. Jeremy Renner plays a bomb technician named Willie James, who fills the shoes of another one who died in an explosion.
The film shows what 30 days in Iraq during 2004 would look like. No, we aren’t on the front lines watching soldiers exchange gunfire back and forth, we get to see something even more interesting. Dreadful day after day we get to see Willie and his bomb squad cypher through the steets of dangerous cities in Iraq. Filmed in Jordan, we actually get to see former prisoners of war and refugees acting as extras in the film.
Willie turns out to be the character we love to hate, but are also fascinated with at the same time. He’s unfriendly to most, goes against the rules, disobeys his team members, and is what we would like to call an “adrenaline junkie.” Willie uses the most unorthodox methods to brilliantly unarm the most lethal and difficult bombs, which have the ability to blow up an entire street block. (Planted in cars, underground, piles of trash, strapped to people). My favorite scene in the movie is shown in this movie poster to the right>>, in which Willie unarms one bomb, but then pulls like 7 out of the ground hooked to each other. That scene has made the hair stand up on the back of my neck both times I’ve seen it.
The Hurt Locker practices a kind of realism, expressing the psychological backbone and ethical obstacles of modern warfare into a series of brilliant, agonizing set pieces. With each bomb that must be diffused comes a gripping, sweaty-palmed scene that could be the end of the entire Delta team’s existence if something were to go wrong. The hand-held camera complete with repeated rack zooms/focus’ gives the viewer the realistic feel that they are on the bomb squad. At the hands of one adrenaline junkie bomb-tech, your life could be over at any time; and it keeps us coming back for more every time. We see the similarities between our main character and the quote that opens the movie, “War is a drug.” Willie’s addiction to being put in the most dangerous of situations is like a drug; everyone’s life in his company is at stake, including his.
When a bomb explodes, that is defined as action. When an entire team’s life is in the hands of one unusual man, and the scene builds up to whether the bomb will explode or not, that’s suspense and this movie sure has a ton of it. Both times I saw it I was kept on the edge of my seat for the duration of the entire flick. There’s a definite reason it is up for a ton of awards. If you haven’t seen The Hurt Locker, I suggest viewing it immediately.
Rating: 9.7/10
