The Hurt Locker

Films about the Iraq war are becoming a dying breed. Most of what we seem to be shown about the subject these days lacks quality or a drive to make a statement or tell a story to the point of fully keeping its viewer's attention. Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" brings this subject back to form, taking the audience into the world of the Army's elite bomb squad.

We follow an elite EOD squad with six weeks remaining of their tour who has just been issued a replacement leader, one who lives on the wild side of life, grappling intense situations with an attitude that lacks a care between life and death. This particular figure, played masterfully by Jeremy Renner, brings forth a full drive of emotions to its audience. He is the most intriguing soldier of the bunch, even if for the most negative of reasons. His wonderful support is provided by Anthony Mackie, playing the squad's do-gooder with a patriotic balance of serving his country and helping its people.

Dramatically, equal efforts are placed in by the filmmaker and her actors. A solid combination of thrills and intesnity mark this up above what could be considered another wartime drama, giving it a level of attentive value that rightfully has the power to hold the viewer's attention precisely throughout the entire duration. You want to know what these characters are going to do and how their differing attitude's will affect the outcome.

Ms. Bigelow has come a long way as a filmmaker, given the fact that she never had a shaky start to begin with. She is a visionary that knew what she was looking for, and along the path of her impressive resume, she continually built her craft, playing with various styles and incorporating what she feels artisitically into every effort. The Hurt Locker drives her talents into something new and deep. This is her look into conflicting personalities working together in a time of war, confusion and personal issues. She gives life to Mark Boal's provocative script, providing a human figure to its characters, bringing them fully to the audience for a full understanding of who they are and what they feel.

When a viewer can find intrigue into the characters they are watching, following their every movement and analyzing what we believe to be their intentions, a connection is placed between entertainment and emotional stimulation. The Hurt Locker manages to culminate these two aspects into a dramatic experience about men at war, and how they approach their situation in regards to their duties and their emotions.