The Hurt Locker [2008]

This is a war flick, but there is much more to it than war. Following lives of soldiers assigned to the bomb squad in Iraq, this movie truly depicts harsh reality of life in such an environment. Death threatening from every window or corner, everything could be a potential bomb and everyone is a suspect (trust no one). The Hurt Locker shows how life is fragile and easy to lose in Iraq, well, pretty much anywhere where these conditions are present. Great performances from all of the actors in combination with great production values are all cleverly put together by a famous director Kathryn Bigelow (K-19: The Widowmaker, Strange Days, Near Dark).

The atmosphere reminded me of several war flicks with a similar theme like Black Hawk Down and Jarhead, especially the latter. Incredibly intense at times, The Hurt Locker also doesn’t shy away from action. This is not some preachy movie, it just shows the daily life of soldiers and leaves to the viewer to decide for himself what they mean. This is very rare and I like this passive approach, so it was only natural to check out Kathryn’s next war movie: Zero Dark Thirty. It featured the same approach, only dealing with a bit more universally controversial subject of torture. Filmed in grueling conditions, with temperatures rising over 50C (122F), and as close as possible to actual locations, take this opportunity to see something different.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse

Fun Stuff: The three songs in the film by Ministry (Fear (Is A Big Business), Palestina, Khyber Pass) are from their tenth album, the politically driven Rio Grande Blood, which criticizes the war in Iraq and former President George Bush.

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0887912/