Recent Release Reviewed: The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, David Morse
Screenplay: Mark Boal
Director: Kathryn Bigelow

"You're a wild man! That's a wild man answer!"

I'm going to have to admit that I didn't manage to see The Hurt Locker at the cinema. We rented it, on Blu-Ray at least, but we didn't exactly get the big screen experience. So it serves as a testament to the film that I was as gripped as I was.

As the film starts a small bomb disposal team in Iraq, comprised of Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), have to adjust to their new team leader, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner). James doesn't seem too preoccupied about treading on his new colleagues' toes, filling the shoes of his dead predecessor, and especially following protocol. Sanborn and Eldridge look on as James takes increasingly bigger risks, endangering not only his own life but theirs as well.

I watched this film shortly after The Hurt Locker swept the Oscars, winning Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Well, looking at the competition, at least the first two honours are justified. It's been a long time since Kathryn Bigelow's last effort K-9: The Widowmaker, but I've always been a big fan. Near Dark, Point Break, and the underrated Strange Days point all showed that Bigelow was a very talented filmmaker. Here she puts the viewer right into the sweat, dust, claustrophobia, and tension. As the film moves from set-piece to set-piece there's barely any room to take a breath. The team's first leader is shown to be funny, easy-going, and has a great rapport with his men. As we see, none of these qualities will stop you getting killed.

The cast is largely comprised of, if not unknown, then lesser known actors. Geraghty played a similar role in Sam Mendes' misjudged Gulf War drama Jarhead, but has much more to do here. Mackie is more familiar, having put in good work in films like Half Nelson, and gives another solid performance here. There are brief but effective cameos from Guy Pearce, David Morse, and Ralph Fiennes. The best work, of course, comes from Jeremy Renner, making the most of a leading role. His turn as James manages to take the strikingly different aspects of the character and pull them together. At one moment he seems to be caring, almost nurturing, towards his team. He has a wife and small child at home. But at the same time he continually puts himself in harm's way, beyond what the job calls for. At times he seems to be pushing himself towards a fiery death, then his survival instinct kicks in just in time.

Compared to other films based on and around the war on terror, The Hurt Locker is miles ahead. The mission statement seems to be putting you right where the action is, and the danger. Unfortunately, the closest point of comparison would be David Simon's superb HBO miniseries Generation Kill, which had the benefit of a much longer running time to fill in details and acquaint you with the characters. They do both have the same attitude towards the politics of the war, which is when you're on the ground facing death, politics is the last thing on your mind.

Of course, with all the hype surrounding the film it's impossible that it could actually match up. It's a little overlong at over two hours, and it does sometimes drag in between the set-pieces. But what set-pieces they are. When Bigelow turns up the tension, you'll find yourself at the edge of your seat. Compared to Avatar? The Hurt Locker wins every time.

8.5/10