The Hurt Locker movie review
When I saw the poster of this 2008 war flick recently with the words “A near-perfect movie”, I thought to myself, that I really need to watch it soon. Besides, a film-critic friend told me that it’s his best movie for the year. I already have it weeks ago but just can’t find a time to watch it until yesterday.
The movie tells of a story of an Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team set right in the heart of Iraq war’s IED warfare. SSgt William James (Jeremy Renner, SWAT) replaces the leader of an EOD team that was killed during a bomb disposal mission. He is extremely good in what he does but is brash and reckless without regard to his team’s safety.
The plot…. wait… there’s no plot. At least not that I know of. It’s a movie with no cohesive story.
The action scenes are very riveting and were executed masterfully (except for the excessive use of the shaky camera) but they don’t have any connectivity with each other save for the first one. It’s just like watching a bunch of bomb disposal missions one after another until the team finishes their tour.
Deep under all those action scenes is a character study for the three-man team and their inner struggles. James with his high on adrenalin brought by his job. Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) who just wants survive so he could get back to his wife. Spec. Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) who’s always unsure with his actions and decisions in the field. Jeremy Renner did a great job on his role here by the way.
If you’re looking for your typical war action film (ones with plots and climax) then you will be disappointed with The Hurt Locker. You can’t even think of it as a documentary with all its inaccuracies. If you are from the Army or a war buff then you would know that:
- EOD teams don’t go out by themselves without support
- EOD teams typically don’t disarm bombs. They dispose them in a safe and secure place. Only the first one is accurate.
- British SAS (elite troops) don’t act like pansies.
- … and many more for you to discover.
It’s an overrated film that could have been much better if only there’s a story and an ending for it. It might be the best movie for others (8.0 in IMDB) but I don’t like peeling a movie like an onion just to enjoy it.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars. Just because there’s a lot of cool action scenes involved. It’s like eating cotton candy, it’s good while you’re eating it but by the time you’re done it will leave you empty.
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- Taken movie review
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Filed under: Movies and TV
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