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Anyway, I saw "The Hurt Locker" today and I loved it. This is a really great war movie and probably the best one I've seen on Iraq. I haven't really seen one like it before, but for the subject given, I think it was done right. It's not really that gore driven like most war movies nowadays. There is some gore in it, but it's nothing that's just shoved in your face as if to say, "Look at the horrors of war!" Instead, it relies on the suspense of disabling bombs and wondering where the enemy is to really draw you in. Some of the cinematic camera work I thought was really good, especially the slow motion, but they also had some shaky cam and quick cuts in parts that I think distracted a bit. The shaky cam was the only really part I hated about this movie, but it wasn't all over the place, so you can probably easily overlook it. The story, which follows a U.S. Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq, is split up into mini stories about the same three guys during their tour instead of just one event they go through. I think it works pretty well given the subject. There are some gunfights and good action scenes, but it's not one of these films where you have a huge battle and people are shooting all the time and there's just total chaos and gore everywhere. Like I said, it's a lot more suspense driven. The acting was good. The main character, played by Jeremy Renner, is kind of a James Dean bad ass of guy that always seems to have a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He's like those old Hollywood cool guys, which I haven't really seen in a movie in a while.
As far as politics, it doesn't really take the pro war/anti war position, but takes the approach that war is a drug and some guys just want that Adrenalin rush, which I think makes sense. There are parts that remind me of something out of "Trainspotting", or some other movie about addicts. That whole pro war/anti war thing has been done a million times before anyway. If anyone's mind about war has to be made up by watching a movie about it, then I think they really shouldn't put themselves in a position to make a call on if it's right, or wrong. I like the whole "take it as it is" attitude when it comes to war movies.
I think this movie did a really great job of conveying the sense that you don't know where the enemy is at, or who the enemy is. Just about every place they stop to dismantle a bomb, there are onlookers, people with cameras, etc. and you kept getting the sense that one of those guys has the detonator and you're at the edge of your seat wondering if they'd shoot him in time. You really get a sense of paranoia that these guys must go through on a daily basis of not knowing who to trust. Over and over you find yourself almost positive some guy is the enemy and then come to find out they're not. Then you're left with kind of a sense of guilt that you wanted him to get shot when he wasn't guilty. A lot of movies have shown people what war looks like, but very few have really made the viewer make moral decisions that the soldiers themselves have to make. This movie did a great job of drawing you into making those decisions in your head.
Some of the Iraq War Vets might call BS on some of the stuff since this is a work of fiction and not based exactly on true events. I'd love to hear a review for this movie done by an actual Iraq War veteran, so if you are one and saw the movie, or found a link to one, please send one my way. I think if you're looking for that perfect cinematic masterpiece, you might be little disappointed, even though there are a few great visuals in the movie, it kind of has a B movie feel to it. On the other hand, I think it was a good action film, with good acting, was really well thought out, and the suspense really kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I give "The Hurt Locker" a 9/10 and highly suggest checking it out.
