by The Great White Gypsy

“War is bad.”
“Bring our troops home.”
“We shouldn’t be in the Middle East.”
“This is a pointless war.”

Whether or not you agree with any or all of these statements, I think most of us can agree that it gets tedious and borderline insulting to be constantly, blatantly told this in every Middle East war film to come out in the last ten years. We go to the movies to be entertained, not to be caught up in partisan ideology and American guilt. Watch Charge of the Light Brigade, Gallipoli, or The Young Lions. Watch any Vietnam movie ever made. We all know that war is horrible; but contrary to popular belief (and in direct opposition to Michael Moore and Oliver Stone), cinema’s role in depicting times of war is to highlight our humanity, our courage, those moments when normal people are ordered into hell and voluntarily, sometimes accidentally become heroes.

The Hurt Locker is a war film that, much like Jarhead and, more recently, Generation Kill, shrugs cumbersome propaganda and focuses on the actual people. Staff Sgt William James (Jeremy Renner) is an Army explosives expert transferred to Camp Victory in Iraq after the previous Staff Sgt is killed in action. His squad searches for and disarms IED’s in the streets of Baghdad. The film covers one tour of duty for the squad (Which also includes Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty), and the mental and physical challenges they face. There is no specific terrorist or “bad guy” to be chased, just lots and lots of bombs to take care of.

This film manages to be tense all the way through. There are several complex and large bombs that Sgt James must disarm, and he does so with a cavalier, reckless attitude that scares his subordinates. However, it is also tense watching the squad hiding in a rock outcropping, playing a waiting game with enemy snipers. Though there are violent scenes, the film doesn’t rely on blood or body parts to keep you in the story. Equally jarring are the periods of downtime, when the soldiers have nothing to do but drink, fight, and think about their families. Of course, they are all trying not to get killed. They all want to go home. Sgt Eldridge (Geraghty) is scared and guilt-ridden over the last Sgt’s death. Sgt Sanborn (Mackie) seems cautious out of logic, but as his character progresses, he admits that he hates being in Iraq, and he wants to live long enough to start a family.

And that’s it. No long diatribe about the evils of war, no incompetent officers throwing troops into the fire. The biggest weapon of this film is its patience, and director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) really pulls it off. The film’s camerawork is very indie, adding to the realism. For the most part, the shots are all on point and full of purpose. Only occasionally does some fancy cinematography (a slow motion shot of a bullet casing hitting the dirt, for example) feel forced and out of place. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (United 93) did a respectable job, but those random outliers do detract slightly from the overall feel of the film.

Marco Beltrami (3:10 to Yuma) and Buck Sanders (Max Payne) provide a tempered yet powerful score that doesn’t overindulge for the sake of tension.

Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later) has been in some good films, and his performance in this one is perfect. His character is confident, talented, and cocky, but maintains an underlying sense of personal uncertainty. Anthony Mackie (Notorious) actually does a good job here, completely relatable and sympathetic throughout.

As much as I appreciate this film and it’s lack of political bias, there are some downsides. I was completely on board until the last five minutes, when the story seemed to wrap up too quickly, without elaborating on something I considered important. The character development seems to deviate, and for a few minutes all connection with Sgt James goes out the window. Also, certain characters and side-plots are extremely predictable and underdeveloped. Screenwriter Mark Boal (In the Valley of Elah) could have done a better job of evolving these things in the script, but I won’t hold it against him.

The Hurt Locker is not as good as Jarhead, but I think it’s much better than Stop-loss, and it won’t take a War film buff (such as myself) to appreciate it.

Definitely check this one out.

Final Grade: B+

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