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THE HURT LOCKER (Blu Ray, 2009)
If Alfred Hitchcock directed a film about the Iraq War, it would probably resemble something like THE HURT LOCKER. I'm paying one of the highest compliments possible to director Kathryn Bigelow who has given us a knockout film. Hitchcock was the master of suspense, and Bigelow has made a film where every scene is an exercise in just that. I enjoyed the hell out of THE HURT LOCKER.
From what I've seen over the past six years, no one has made a decent movie about what's going on in the Middle East. I think part of that is we're so embroiled in it and subjected to countless daily headlines that no one wants to spend two hours in a theater with the war. Movies are an escape. Most of the films surrounding the war I've seen have been annoyingly political and strangely un-engaging (SEE: LIONS FOR LAMBS). There are a few I haven't seen, and I'm unimpressed with what I have.
That is, until I threw in THE HURT LOCKER.
The film centers around an elite U.S. bomb squad who's sole purpose in Iraq is to find and safely disable IED's left scattered around the country. Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) is the best of the best at what he does, and also a bit of a loose-cannon/adrenaline-junkie. The story focuses on two soldiers in James' squad who try and understand his unruly and sometimes psychotic behavior while trying to stay alive in one of the deadliest places on earth.
This is a straight-up smart action movie. This is not a political thriller, or another anti-war film for some Hollywood jerk-off to scream their opinions. This is entertainment at its best. Kathryn Bigelow has used the war as the film's backdrop, but this bad-boy is all about disarming bombs before they go off, and as you can imagine, it's intense as hell. I don't want to paint a false picture here though, there is wonderful character work at play here, and some powerful performances (especially Renner) that help elevate this from something like THE KINGDOM to a well-rounded action/war film.
As I mentioned at the top of this review, THE HURT LOCKER is as intense as they come. What you have here are scenes where you know at any moment a bomb could explode and take out characters you're rooting for. I was squirming through this whole movie waiting for the worst. Will they find the bomb? Will they disable the bomb? Will the bad guys detonate the bomb before they disable it? It sounds simple, and it is... but it's fucking perfect. It's masterful filmmaking.
While I usually laugh at quotes from critics on the DVD/Blu Ray boxes, I'll agree 100% with this one: THE HURT LOCKER is "a near-perfect movie". That's on the money. For me, I had some problems with the 3rd Act/climax of the movie. While it was very good, I thought they missed an opportunity to make it great. To say more would be to spoil, and I ain't in the spoilin' business (unless it's a Rob Zombie movie). Let me reiterate, not a lot of negative things to say.
The Oscar hype surrounding THE HURT LOCKER is well-deserved. Do I think it will win Best Picture? Nope. But for my money it was one of the most enjoyable films I saw all last year. I really hope Jeremy Renner gets recognized by the Academy because he was fantastic, and he really carries this movie as a very tormented, but good-willed character. I can't wait to see where this guy's career goes from here.
Interesting note: Bigelow is James Cameron's ex-wife. I'm guaranteeing both this and AVATAR will be up for Best Picture. And you know what? Bigelow made the better film. SEE THIS NOW.
THE HURT LOCKER: 9 out of 10
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