The Hurt Locker (DVD, 2010)

This is a thriller of a movie about a U.S. Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq and their daily grind in dealing with the IEDs and insurgents there.

This movie does have several stars - but Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pierce, and Evangeline Lilly all have fairly small roles. Blink, and you'll miss them. Their presence in this movie is more a testament to director/producer Kathryn Bigelow's status in the entertainment industry than anything else.

Jeremy Renner is Sergeant James, a bomb tech. Unlike his affable predecessor, he is a wild man. He seems not only indifferent to the dangers of his job, he absolutely revels in the dangers. It is the ultimate in thrill seeking behavior, getting that dopamine surge in his brain. Near the end of the movie, Sgt. James gets accused of being an adrenaline junkie, but we know now that the neurochemical at work here is dopamine. Bomb disposal is not just a job for him, but his passion, his addiction, his reason for being in the Army.

Renner's character ends up like a cross between Elmer Fudd, with his perpetually placid and slightly befuddled gaze, and Bugs Bunny, with his wile and lust for excitement and danger.

His two partners in the unit, Sgt. Sanborn and Specialist Eldridge, who have to cover him and just want to survive their tour of duty, don't know quite how to deal with his determination to confront danger. One wonders at why Sgt. James puts himself in danger, why he takes the extra risks to defuse a bomb when detonating it would do. The scene that explains it all is when Sgt. James returns home to America one day and we see him doing the mundane chores of life as a civilian, cleaning out the rain gutters, cleaning up the kitchen, shopping with his wife and baby at the grocery store. As he stares at an entire wall full of colorful cereal boxes stacked along a grocery store aisle, a look of utter blankness, boredom, and despair fills his face.....nope, not for him, this dull life as a civilian....

The movie's storyline is a series of daily missions, almost like a documentary or a TV series, each episode standing alone and yet building upon previous episodes, each one presenting a new danger, a new challenge, another piece of the puzzle that is the war in Iraq.

What makes this movie work is the recreation of Iraq in this movie - it was filmed in Jordan with local Iraqi expatriates. We feel the oppressive tension of the whole country, of not knowing who the bad guys are and where the next bomb or bullet is going to come from. We feel the fear and uncertainty of the American soldiers, caught between their desire to be the good guys and wanting to make nice with the local Iraqis, while constantly needing to remain vigilant and suspicious, never knowing who is a good Iraqi, and who deserves to get shot. We feel the bewilderment and resentment of the local Iraqis, who get pushed around at every turn by the American soldiers.

Unlike so many other recent Iraq war movies, this movie makes no political statements, there is no right or wrong here. These are just men at work, doing a dangerous and dirty job, and these guys are darn good at what they do for their country, whatever the reasons are that they are doing it.

This is a must see movie for anyone interested in making movies/directing and or acting. Kathryn Bigelow achieves premiere status as one of the best directors in the industry. Only two females have been nominated for best director by the academy awards!

Ever wanted to know what goes on during the iraqi war from the view of a humvee crew? Go inside with a crew that diffuses bombs, they have to conquer the elements (extreme heat) and hatred in the area by insurgents. This movie has political, war and life themes, the main characters have to deal with many problems that bring the viewer to the edge wanting more. You can relate to one or possibly two and maybe all three of the main characters. One doesn't care about his life or the others and takes nothing seriously, the others just want to go home and finish there tours. The action scenes are very breath taking. For the rest of the movie you should watch it. I do not want to ruin it for you, below is an analysis from what it has won.

The Hurt Locker is a 2008 American war thriller directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It was one of the most acclaimed films of 2009, earning awards and honors from numerous organizations, festivals and groups, including 9 Academy Award nominations. The film swept the 2010 BAFTA awards, winning best film, director, original screenplay, editing, cinematography and sound. The film follows a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq War.

The Hurt Locker opens with a quotation from War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, a best-selling 2002 book by New York Times war correspondent and journalist Chris Hedges: "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

Starting with its initial screening at the 2008 Venice International Film Festival, The Hurt Locker has earned an impressive list of awards and honors. It has also earned its place on more Top 10 lists than any other film of 2009. It is nominated in nine categories at the 82nd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor, and for three Golden Globe awards. Kathryn Bigelow was awarded the 2009 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film for the film, the first time a female director has ever won.The film also won the award for the Best Film at the BAFTA's held on 21st February 2010; Bigelow also garnered the award for Best Director at the ceremony.

The film swept most critics groups awards for best director and best picture including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston and Las Vegas film critics associations. The Hurt Locker also became only the fourth film to win all three major U.S. critics group prizes (NY, LA and NSFC) joining Goodfellas, Schindler's List and L.A. Confidential.

The movie follows the lives of members of a Bagdad U.S. military bomb detonating unit.

We watch the day to day operations of the unit as they risk their lives in an effort to keep their fellow soldiers as well as civilians alive.

This movie is full of drama and real life events.

The cast includes: Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly, Guy Pearce, and Ralph Fiennes

The movie has already won including awards for best director and best picture. This is a great movie and is sure to be nominated for an academy award.

This is a must see movie and will make a great addition to any movie collection

I have watched a few war movies but this was bar far an awesome movie! It started out suspenseful and remained that way until the end of the movie.

The movie makes you feel as if you are in the war zone as you watch it. The camera views were great with the camera moving around constantly showing you the environment.

The characters were great. Each character played a tough part and no one was alike. The action was great, the suspense was great! This movie placed you on the edge of your seat the entire time.

I even discussed the movie with someone who just got back from war and he said it was the closest movie he has seen to it. I can see why it was nominated for an oscar.

A must see, perhaps even to purchase!

I went into this movie with fairly high expectations because of all the incredible reviews it's been getting. For being an independent movie that was only released to 500 theaters nationwide and made with a fairly low budget, it's amazing. I'm not in the army or anything and I don't know any of the fine details, but I can't imagine making a film seem more authentic and realistic than this. It's got numerous really intense, heart-pounding moments and the acting from everyone is spot on. There isn't really too much of a plot. It's basically about a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq War. We follow their tour together as they deal with stuff like defusing bombs and the tension that develops among them. Fans of action/thriller movies will be pleased, and if you enjoyed Black Hawk Down then The Hurt Locker most likely won't disappoint. I'd rate it a solid 9.5/10.