Review: The Hurt Locker (2009)

Director: Kathryn Bigelow (K-19: The Widowmaker, Point Break)

Cast: Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later, The Unusuals), Anthony Mackie (We Are Marshall, Eagle Eye), Brian Geraghty (Jarhead), Guy Pearce (Momento, L.A. Confidential), Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter, Schindler's List), David Morse (House, Disturbia), Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Christian Camargo (Dexter)

The Deal: Staff Sergeant William James (Renner) is a highly trained bomb specialist with a severe addiction to adrenaline. He's reckless, but the best at his job, having diffused over 800 bombs in his career. His new squadmates, Sanborn (Mackie) and Eldridge (Geraghty), tend to strictly stick to protocol, and find themselves questioning James' ability to keep them out of harm. As they handle one bomb after another, and find themselves in more dangerous situations, their wild leader's antics will change each man forever.

Thoughts: First off, I'd like to applaud the film for completely refusing to take a political stance on the war in Iraq, and instead focusing solely on the men in it and the dangerous jobs they do. The film itself is incredibly gripping, leaving many viewers holding their breathe as the characters again and again plunge themselves ever close to death. Even for those who don't hold their breathe, they will most certainly be on the edge of their seats. It's a powerful film, and it does a wonderful job showing how soldiers really do put their life on the line. It also sports a fair amount of humor, as James' reckless and wild man antics tend lighten the audiences mood a bit, but the film's mood remains quite serious.

Jeremy Renner gave an excellent performance in the lead. He knows when to hold back and when to go all out, and he feels like a soldier and not like an actor playing a soldier. Similar things can be said of the other two main actors, Mackie and Geraghty. Geraghty's character is one who is tired of war, always living in fear of death, and desperately wanting to go home. He's the big emotional anchor of the trio. Mackie plays the by-the-book Sergeant, seemingly stone-cold and analytical, but slowly realizing some of the things he wants in life lie outside of the war. Regardless of any of the other big names in the film (they all have small roles), these three dominate the screen time, and do a very good job carrying the film.

In the opening sequence, it is stated that for some, war is a drug. It doesn't take long for this to become very apparent with James. He initially comes off as young and reckless, but then you slowly learn how experienced he actually is and the leadership skills he possesses, and you realize how addicted to diffusing bombs he really is. He says that as you get older, you find only one or two things in life you truly love, and for him, it is one thing, the thrill of war. It's where he feels most at ease, and he just can't function well without it. There is a wonderful scene towards the end of the film when he finally goes home, and he's trying to go grocery shopping, but has no clue what to even do. It doesn't make sense to him, and the sad thing is, this happens in real life to soldiers.

Verdict: The film is incredibly suspenseful, leaving many breathless and others on the edge of their seats. It is well acted, especially by Renner, and is easily the best film on the war in Iraq, and the best war film since Saving Private Ryan. ☆☆☆☆1/2