First Hit: Wow! This film is extremely well directed and acted and effectively brings a powerful reflection of war to life on the big screen.
Having spent 19 months in the Vietnam War I have a little experience with what war is like. Each war is unique and in their own venue is full of its own distinct particular problems.
Hurt Locker is about Iraq and a specialized group of men, the elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit. This film focuses on one team of these specialized group of men whose job is to clear road mines, car bombs and other explosive traps and situations. Doing their job helps to protect the civilian and US soldier population in Baghdad from surprise bombings.
Staff Sergeant William James (played by Jeremy Renner) joins two others as their leader after the previous team leader lost his life attempting to defuse a roadside bomb. James is brash, brazen and appears to have little regard to the protocol of the job.
One of the things that keeps this film’s suspense right in the for front is that we’re always aware of how many days this unit has remaining in their current tour of duty. They are very close to going home and starting with day 38, tension begins to arrive with each new and increasingly dangerous mission.
While the team is cognizant of how close they are to leaving Iraq, James' level of disregard for the bombs he is diffusing enhances this tension.
However, as this film moves along, you begin to see James' driven madness to diffuse every bomb as a genuine obsessed respect and addiction for his job because he prides himself in his ability to figure out how to beat the bombers' intentions and bomb making skills.
Kathryn Bigelow directs this film superbly. From the moment the celluloid hits the white screen, you drop into this film. There is no escaping it and most of the time it feels as though you are watching a polished documentary. It feels real. Mark Boal was the writer and must be given kudos for creating a script that reflects so many different aspects and feelings about war through the three main characters. Jeremy Renner as James, Anthony Mackie as Sanborn and Brian Geraghty as Eldridge are outstanding as soldiers’ representing different realistic feelings soldiers can find themselves embodying.
Overall: I cannot say enough about this film in the way it left everyone in the theater, slightly stunned, educated, and more aware about the real casualties of war.