"The Hurt Locker" Review

“The Hurt Locker,” now playing in limited release, hammers its audience with unrelenting suspense, shocks them with its amazing authenticity, and illuminates them to the day-to-day struggles of a bomb tech soldier in Iraq.

The film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (“Point Break”), mainly follows Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) as he is transferred to a new bomb tech unit in Iraq due to the unfortunate death of the unit’s previous leader (Guy Pearce). While working to diffuse bombs, the reckless and over confident James comes into conflict with his comrades, the no-nonsense Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and the timid Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty).

“The Hurt Locker” is an action movie. There’s no doubt about that, but it’s a decidedly different type of action movie – an action movie that is rooted in character. To be honest, “The Hurt Locker” may be one of the best mixes of character drama and suspenseful action in recent years. Bigelow does not make one false step in her direction. And while Mark Boal’s script does have its problems, Bigelow maneuvers around them with dexterity and confidence. In other words, she makes the script’s small hiccups disappear and moves the film along at a near impeccable pace. The film truly is a triumph of directing.

Part of what makes Bigelow’s direction so fantastic is her keen eye for suspense. When the film starts, the audience is quickly thrust into a suspenseful action sequence. As the sequence continues, both the stakes of the situation and the realness of the characters are established. Thus, the suspense continues to build until the sequence reaches its explosive conclusion. And with each new sequence, the characters become more fleshed out and relatable – making the suspense subsequently higher each time. Also adding to the suspense is how realistically the film is shot. Bigelow has the geography of her scenes perfectly laid out. The audience knows where each character is, what they are doing, and why they are doing it. And when Bigelow and cinematographer Barry Ackroyd use hand held cameras, it is coherent, unlike most recent Hollywood action films.

Something that further separates “The Hurt Locker” from recent action films is its performances – which are uniformly solid. Jeremy Renner is outstanding as Sergeant James. He perfectly embodies the character’s unpredictability and sells the movie’s main thematic idea: “war is a drug.” James has an addiction – an addiction that frightens his comrade Owen Eldridge. The relatively unknown Brian Garaghty shines in his portrayal of Eldrige and beautifully conveys the character’s fear and awkwardness. Anthony Mackie also fares well in his performance as Sergeant Sanborn, but his character feels a tad undeveloped. When Sanborn has a fairly emotional scene near the film’s closure, it does not feel earned. Thankfully, Mackie’s acting chops save the moment from completely falling flat.

While the script has its flaws, it is still fairly well-developed. Screenwriter Mark Boal’s dialogue really sells the authenticity of the film. And by focusing on three different soldiers, Boal is able to show how different people react to war and high risk situations. It also enables him to weave a few different ideas around the film’s main thesis – the aforementioned idea that “war is a drug.” And – excluding one distracting sequence in the film’s middle – Boal does not stray from this idea or the film’s overall plot.

In conclusion, “The Hurt Locker,” directed with great skill by Kathryn Bigelow, is one of the year’s best films.

A-

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