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166 comments in total

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129 out of 152 people found the following comment useful :-
The Brilliant Explosion Of Kathryn Bigelow, 28 June 2009

Author: carlostallman from Argentina

I spent the entire film grabbing the arms of my seat. I was there in Irak, steps away from my death and the death of those around me. The tension, the suspense is at times breathtaking, literally. "The Hurt Locker" is a miracle and the definitive consecration of a great filmmaker, Kathryn Bigelow. This is also a rare occasion in which I went to see the film without having read a single review or knowing anything about it. One should try to do that more often because the impact of the surprise translates into pure pleasure and in this case, sometimes, you have to look away from the unmitigated horror. Jeremy Renner is a real find. He is superb. A kind soul, wild man with enough arrogance to make him appear reckless and yet his humanity precedes him. People may commit the mistake of avoiding this gem thinking that it's just a war film. Don't. It isn't. It's a great, engrossing film about human emotions, not to be missed.

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116 out of 132 people found the following comment useful :-
A Perfectly Shattering Film Going Experience, 28 June 2009

Author: agmancuso from United States

Kathryn Bigelow concocts a masterpiece of a film without tricks or gimmicks, at least none to be detected and that in itself is a triumph. Realistic yet poetic like the works of the great masters. It enters and fits a genre and at the same time is unique, unexpected. It shutters, moves and alters every sense, like a powerful drug. I saw it last night and I'm going to see it again tonight. Last night Jeremy Remmer came to speak to the audience in a face to face moderated by Sam Rockwell, great idea but it change my perception of Remmer in the film, of his character. Although he praised Kathryn Bigelow, he said things like "I don't tell her how to direct and she doesn't tell me how to act" Watching the film I felt that childish arrogance belonged to the character by his personal appearance showed it belonged to the actor. In any case, it works on the screen. A character you warm up to almost immediately in spite of his contradictions. Remmer will remind you at times of Robert Redford and others of Michael J Pollard. He is truly terrific so try to avoid his personal appearances not to contaminate that impression. The rest of the cast works wonders and the brief cameos by Guy Pearce and Ralph Finnes are the most organic and unobtrusive cameos I've ever seen in my life. All in all extraordinary. I predict, even if we're only in June, that Kathryn Bigelow risks to be the first female director to win the Academy Award. She certainly got my vote.

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102 out of 122 people found the following comment useful :-
The work of a master filmmaker, 18 March 2009

Author: krigler from Budapest, Hungary

The Hurt Locker is a serious character study and a taut, suspenseful action thriller at once.

The subject matter itself - the work of a bomb expert, possibly one of the most nerve-racking jobs on the planet - yields most of the suspense but Bigelow manages to squeeze out every bit of tension of the premise.

This film to me was very apolitical - though set in Iraq, it is distinguished from most of the Iraq-themed war films in that it concentrates much more on the job itself than the political environment. Iraq seemed more like a backdrop - any other war would do, The Hurt Locker does not preach about this one specifically.

The story is deeply emotional, depicting a thoroughly disturbed individual's life in hell. Jeremy Renner gives an incredibly powerful performance as an EOD officer completely hooked on adrenaline stemming from his everyday close shaves with death.

All aspects of film-making are top-notch, from the brilliantly subversive screenplay through vivid cinematography, masterful directing and perfectly paced editing.

In its storytelling the filmmakers wisely break with traditional Hollywood narrative techniques. There is no clear antagonist, no rising action, no obvious character development and no climax. And yet the film manages to be more interesting, tense and suspenseful than any Hollywood action thriller I've seen in years while making a powerful, yet subtle statement about the insane addiction that is war. Kudos for everyone involved for making this film without compromising.

This is pure quality, cinematic storytelling at its best, a thinking man's actioner.

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108 out of 161 people found the following comment useful :-
TIFF 2008: The Hurt Locker - World class war-action cinema, 10 September 2008

Author: (corstay@hotmail.com) from Canada

Simply put, action ace Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" is a near masterpiece of suspense and unrelenting intensity.

Her first film since 2002's "K-19: The Widowmaker," The Hurt Locker is definitely a return to form from the director of probably the greatest (in this man's humble opinion) surfer-action movie of all time "Point Break." The film follows Bravo company, a team of bomb technicians situated right in the heart of the Iraq war's modern IED warfare. Jeremy Renner, mostly known for impressive performances in "S.W.A.T" and "The Assassination of Jesse James," gives his most riveting performance yet as the lead, Staff Sergeant William James, a reckless but brilliant soldier who has taken down almost 850 bombs.

What separates this film from the bulk of mainstream cinema that has tackled the Iraqi situation is that it doesn't simply exist as a political polemic, or even a reminder of the humanitarian horrors that plague the Iraqi people.

Instead, Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal give us a story that transcends politics and can be seen as almost a straight up kick-ass action pic. The film is plotted by increasingly dangerous and fully realized defusion sequences, all of which were shot from beginning to end in single takes with DOP Barry Ackroyd's cameras continuously roving around set in order to create a tense realism that translates well to the screen.

Very elaborate attention to detail and mise-en-scene is in every frame of the pic, with Bigelow choosing to shoot in Jordan and locations being less than 10 KM away from the Iraqi border. And from a searing heat wave ranging up to 49C to actual Iraqi refugees used as extras to impeccable sound design and special guest cameos by Guy Pearce, David Morse and Ralph Fiennes, Bigelow has succeeded in creating an entirely memorable and visceral experience that will surely leave its mark in the pantheon of the very best war spectacles put to film.

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58 out of 92 people found the following comment useful :-
Phenomenal phlick, 9 September 2008

Author: capncubby from Toronto

Saw this last night at TIFF and followed with a "Mavericks" chat with Bigelow tonight. It flips between quiet, drawn out tension and moments of sheer insanity. It skips most of the navel gazing and ... as someone else has already said ... is filmed in a straight-up fictional documentary way that lets you draw your own conclusions without force feeding anything to you.

Special note on the music and sound editing - phenomenal. I'm sure that was a big reason I was completely wired at the end of the movie (it was the 3rd of the day at TIFF, and probably helped me stay awake for the last one).

Another great effort by Bigelow. And I'd never heard of the 3 leads but was glad they went with no-names to tell the story of everyday hero soldiers. Was also nice to be spared the obvious "why are we there ... which idiot sent us here?" questions (cuz yeah... you don't need a movie to find those answers).

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40 out of 60 people found the following comment useful :-
One of the best war films of the past 25 years..., 27 June 2009

Author: Clayton Davis (Claytondavis@awardscircuit.com) from New Jersey

Gut-wrenching, pulse-pounding, out of this world tension, just mere exterior descriptions of what Kathryn Bigelow's new film, The Hurt Locker is. Written by Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker overflows with intensity, passion, and reverence. In the wake of 9/11, filmmakers have struggled to create a piece that is socially accepted and respected. Only two films have succeeded in this task over the past eight years; Paul Greengrass' beautiful United 93, depicting an open interpretation of the final moments of the doomed plane and now, Bigelow's film will join the short, elite list.

This character-driven tale tells the stories of three army soldiers who are a part of the most dangerous of jobs to offer in the military, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), in plainer terms, they disarm bombs. Staff Sergeant William James played ferociously by Jeremy Renner heads up this story as a soldier facing death every moment of the day. With his wife and child at home and often displaying unorthodox behavior, James seems fit for a war soldier. Sergeant JT Sanborn, played by Anthony Mackie is a by-the-book man, living his days at war while incurring losses along the way. Specialist Owen Eldridge played by Brian Geraghty is young, bewildered, and thrust into a situation unknowing of the impact it would have. What these three men bring to their respective roles educates the viewer of the horrors of war. Forget what you think you know on CNN and your local news, Bigelow is running the show with Boal out on assignment and Renner, Mackie, and Geraghty as our anchors.

The crews of the picture are the tools in building this powerful vessel. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd uses his four camera use to keep us feeling like a first-person account of the events of the film. The mesh of Marco Beltrami & Buck Sanders score and the sound effects team makes for a more suspenseful experience. Filming in Jordan was the choice of Bigelow to give it a more authentic feel. "If you're going to make a film about the Middle East, make it in the Middle East." Bigelow said to me after the film. It paid off big time because I always felt like I was there in the battle zone, enduring pain, torment, and dehydration.

With a NY & LA release set for Friday, June 26th, The Hurt Locker's deserves all the praise its been receiving and should be experienced by any movie lover. The Oscar Prospects might look a little grim based on the summer release but with no real first-half of 2009 contenders, Bigelow and her film have strong chances of taking a spot amongst the final five come end of the year. Renner and Mackie will also be strong contenders in their respective categories. The strongest possibility for an Oscar has to be for writer Mark Boal. The research he did for the film alone will keep Boal in the minds of voters. The Hurt Locker's striking cinematography, crisp editing that keeps it at a heart palpating pace, strong performances, directing, and writing is enough to take this film in consideration for your viewing. Brilliant, simply brilliant.

****/****

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42 out of 64 people found the following comment useful :-
Exceptional War Film, 5 March 2009

Author: aaronrourke from Australia

After a long break, director Kathryn Bigelow returns with 'The Hurt Locker', and shows why she is one of the most exciting film-makers working today.

Following a particular bomb squad currently serving in Iraq, the film shows the conflict on a number of different levels. From the ground-level troops, to the commanding officers, to the civilians who witness every intense stand-off on a daily basis, 'The Hurt Locker' puts the viewer on the front line.

Where other war-related films revel in the action-orientated battle scenes, Bigelow deliberately drains all the excitement and popcorn approach from the scenes involving gunplay and bombings, making for a much more natural, realistic effect.

The interaction between the U.S soldiers is first-rate, showing how the Bush government's ham-fisted invasion of Iraq has affected the troops' effectiveness on the ground, and its alliance with Iraqi civilians.

Performances are perfect. Jeremy Renner is excellent as Staff Sergeant James, who loves the rush of disarming bombs, even if it means putting his fellow soldiers at risk. Anthony Mackie is great as the level-headed Sanborn, while Brian Geraghty scores strongly as Eldridge, who admires both James and Sanborn, but can't decide which side to take.

A great companion piece to Brian DePalma's criminally under-rated 'Redacted', 'The Hurt Locker' is an incredibly vivid, technically brilliant drama that shows that the people who suffer the most during war are the ones who have to experience it first-hand, and that a war plan half-completed can only lead to disaster. It is also great to see Kathryn Bigelow ('Near Dark'/'The Loveless'/'Strange Days'/'Point Break'/'K-19 : The Widowmaker') back, showing once again what a terrific film-maker she is.

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53 out of 87 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow.. what can I say? I had hopes, but..., 5 February 2009

Author: (theoriginalbyoch) from Iraq

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

but it still sucked. OK, let me qualify this statement- if you are not in the military, or are not a strong military history buff, then perhaps you can enjoy he movie for what it is, a mild action/thriller set in the middle east. Otherwise you will be very irritated watching this movie.

I am on my second tour in Iraq as a Cavalry Scout, currently living at VBC, as mentioned in the movie. I have provided MANY EOD escorts to IED sites. There are some key factors that his movie really gets wrong.

First, EOD almost never, ever disarms IEDs. They blow them in place, using C4, much like the first bomb scene. This is because it is much safer for the EOD team than disarming the bombs, many of which are set with the sole intent of killing EOD, and to prevent another insurgent from coming along and reusing the bombs. Also, the explosion usually will set off any secondary IEDs that may be wired into the first ones, stacked beneath it, etc. Of course, that bomb really only needed one block of C4 to detonate it, and the robot could have easily taken that out in it's claw, but I can buy the excuse as the director needed to kill a character off for the plot. I've seen the guys in the suits as much as with th robot, it all depends on the situation, however none have ever sat around with a Gerber multi-tools, puling on the wires and dragging the bombs around. These are very volatile substances and yanking on the blasting caps can easily set them off.

EOD always has a cordon of security out before going to work. Snipers and IEDs as ambushes to lure EOD techs into the open are very common. Watching his two other soldiers as they stand on HMMWV hoods, stand in the open street and wait to be taken out with a sniper shot is just grating.

A soldier with an M4 carbine is no security against vehicles, as the car scene shows. A vehicle crew would never, ever dismount the heavy machine gun in the turret to stand about with an M4 on the ground. That is just ridiculous. It seems that every time this EOD team rolls up to another bomb, all the crews have dismounted away from their heavy weapon and hide clustered in buildings. There is no security cordon whatsoever.

The car bomb scene was a disaster. First is the sniper using the Chinese AK that sets the car on fire with a seemingly well placed shot to he gas tank? The ca, full of bombs (which are wired together), need to be set off by lighting the car on fire? If this Arab was such a good shot, perhaps e could have just been shooting the EOD team standing out in the open. As it is, he shoots over the heads of these guys just to hit the car. And if that was the method of triggering the bombs, what were they actually wired to? And the wire appears to be thick, like det cord, not electrical wire. Det cord would detonate in a fire... Anyway, EOD, instead of backing off and letting the fire do it's job and destroy the bomb, grabs the fire extinguisher from their HMMWV to put out the VBIED? So if they are ambushed or blown up on their way back to base they won't have anything to put their own vehicle out with because they used it all on a bomb?? So after the sniper shoots the car, a single EOD team member goes in an clears the roof tops, without the aid of the squad of soldiers nearby. He just rushes through a place that is known to have had at least one insurgent in it, by himself. That is just asking to get shot, or worse.

My favorite line at the VBIED scene is when the black soldier radios up that the building is evacuated, and tells the guy ripping through the car looking for the initiator (why?) to leave it for the engineers. WTF? EOD leaving bomb disposal to the engineers? That is what EOD IS FOR! Then there's the disregard for rank structure. The Specialist that refuses to say Sir to a Lieutenant Colonel, when E5 Sanborn slugs E7 James with no repercussions, standing at Parade Rest for officers (never mind they are in a hot area still...). The uniforms bug me, like an American flag on both sides of the ACU top, the green subdued cloth lag is unauthorized for wear according to AR670-1, the sleeves are never rolled up on an ACU top...

And who exactly is this O5 with the 1st ID patches? Is he supposed to be mental health, chaplin, or something like that? Then there's the sniper scene. WTF is happening here? EOD suddenly just goes off somewhere near Najaf, because guess what, there isn't a lot of desert like that near VBC. And who goes off without an escort? And the mercs, the Barret scene... oh God, it just goes on and on painfully.

All this and the movie isn't even half over yet. From my time working with the EOD teams in our areas I can say that this movie is crap. It would be much better as a police story in a busy city, not in a warzone. Then I could buy into why this guy is disarming bombs. I am glad I saw this on a $2 burned Haji copy. If I'd paid real money for this movie then I too would have a death-wish.

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29 out of 42 people found the following comment useful :-
Not just an action movie, 27 October 2008

Author: latinese from Italy

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

OK, the action aspect has been described in other comments. No need to repeat that it's extremely well done, and that it's powerful. The first 30' of the films are so gripping you feel you're going to die with the artificer.

I'd like to say something about other aspects of The Hurt Locker. First, the fact that, though only focusing on the 3 main characters, the members of the EOD team, Bigelow manages to put Iraqi people in the picture. Not trying to tell the story from their point of view, which would be very difficult and might easily sound false. But showing how the war in Iraq is fought among common people who are desperately trying to live a normal life. This creates a situation of deadly uncertainty, which is well caught in the movie, and also moral responsibility. The final scene, where the artificer talks to the human bomb, is not just gripping and suspenseful: it's also a sort of moral allegory. Can the US troops there defuse the bomb, which is a metaphor of a country totally out of control? Well, the ending of the scene probably tells you what's Bigelow opinion on it.

But let's go to the little lower layer. If danger is an addictive drug (that's what the film tells you right from the start), it should be said that William James is not the only addict in the film. He tries to get back home and live a normal life again with his wife and child. He can't. He gets back to Iraq. Is this only James' problem? Or are the US on the whole addicted to war, violence, danger? I think the ending tells another story, not just that of the protagonist. The man who cannot stop gambling on his ability to deactivate bombs may be an image of a country which cannot stop gambling on its ability to win wars (or to persuade itself it is winning the wars it's started).

All in all, a deeper film than it may seem at a first viewing.

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31 out of 47 people found the following comment useful :-
The Hurt Locker Movie Review from The Massie Twins, 25 June 2009

Author: joel massie (GoneWithTheTwins) from www.GoneWithTheTwins.com

A war film unlike any other, The Hurt Locker examines a group of Army bomb squad soldiers in Iraq and the extreme toll the horrors of war and the debilitating awareness of imminent death takes on their lives. Incredibly suspenseful from the start, the pressure and paranoia to get the job done never lets up, and though the balance between realism and personalized fiction seems to shift more towards the latter further into the turmoil, few films can boast war scenes of such a gloriously intense magnitude.

After the leader of an Army bomb squad unit in Iraq is tragically killed, brash-but-experienced bomb technician William James (Jeremy Renner) is brought in to replace his command. His new squad includes Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty); the trio must learn to trust each other through their various, always perilous missions, constantly coping with the daily reminders of the fragility of human life and the infinite dangers surrounding their every move.

"War is a drug" states the opening quote by author Chris Hedges. That idea isn't fully revisited until the conclusion when The Hurt Locker resorts to being a mouthpiece for soldier's mentalities, the regimentation of their lives and their inability to reinsert themselves back into the world they knew before. It seems an unnecessary effort, considering the incredible amount of raw suspense and nail-biting action that drives the majority of the film. It's a small dose of political agenda, leaving the rest to be solidly entertaining, proving once again that director Kathryn Bigelow can handle action movies like the best of them.

The Hurt Locker is partly a biopic of a fictionalized EOD specialist, and part pseudo-documentary about a tension-wrought Bravo Company 40 day rotation. Instead of focusing on a story arc that separates specific villains and related events, the film chronicles several unrelated bomb missions and the tolls they have on fellow soldiers, Iraqi citizens and James' beliefs and methodology. Without catching those responsible or even hunting specific terrorists, The Hurt Locker relies on tremendously powerful imagery, adrenaline-fix recklessness, mental stresses and an obsession with death, heart-stopping explosions, camaraderie, Full Metal Jacket-influenced commanding officer execution thoughts, and enough suspenseful intensity to level a movie theater. It's borderline humorous the way Bigelow toys with the audience, setting up extreme anticipation for the next detonation or ambush, pouncing on the viewer's senses like a horror film.

Being a bomb squad technician is like a roll of the dice, a high-pressure, high-stakes risk that demands a sound mind and a dizzyingly calm intelligence. There is no room for error, and actor Jeremy Renner provides a believable hero - one who demonstrates a daredevil disregard for protocol and safety that might just be a mask for a man whose perfectly-honed skills are the mark of an uncompromising professional. The supporting cast is superb, as are the sound effects and numbingly immersive camera-work. Witnessing a different side of the Iraqi war zone, a modern battlefield, coupled with real-life sacrifice and heroism is powerful, alluring, and eye-opening entertainment.

- The Massie Twins

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