Jeremy Renner As An Explosives Technician
Before reading this review, I strongly implore you watch The Hurt Locker first. It was the way I saw it and am therefore biased in my suggestion for how you should view this film. The Hurt Locker stars Jeremy Renner who plays Staff Sergeant William James. William is accompanied by his fellow elite bomb technicians Sergeant JT Sanborn [Anthony Mackie] and the youngster, Specialist Owen Eldridge [Brian Geraghty] all provide the best performance I have seen all year. Directed by Kathyrn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker is definitely going to be on several peoples' lists for best movie of the year, and if it is not, then it honestly would not surprise me[The Visitor says "Hi!"].
It is hard to make a movie like the one Kathryn Bigelow and writer, Mark Boal have so brilliantly constructed. On one hand, this is a 'present day setting' showing the nitty and gritty of what soldiers [of all nationalities] have to endure on a daily basis. On the other hand, the time to show this to a western audience is questionable considering that the States are still divided on what makes this war worth fighting for. The opening of the movie shows the viewer a common daily activity which involves soldiers seeing foreign objects on the ground which look like a road-side bomb. Enter the bomb specialist team; an often heard about, but seldom seen represented in present day war movies. Characters like William James are shown to have a 'badass' and devil may care attitude in order to complete a task no logical thinking human would undertake. It could be a hard pill to swallow if your opinions on the current war are not easily curbed for geniune story about an isolated occupation.
How do you show a movie involving the Army's finest while depicting the tension and atrocities of war in a fresh yet believable light? I'm guessing this is where you call someone like Kathryn Bigelow. The Hurt Locker is a 'palm sweating' thriller/action movie. There are moments where the action is silent. Meaning the events where the viewer feels the most movement and excitement occurs when there is minimal movement and little dialogue. There are scenes of where Lebanon looks like Iraq, which is not too hard of a feat, but still impressive given the mood conveyed.
There are absolute 'cringe-worthy' moments in this film. This is not from an overly braggadocious plot or a gore-filled slow motion spectacle. The Hurt Locker is so well edited and paced that there are few moments [if any] where you are wanting the movie to get on with it. However, when you see Jeremy Renner put on that suit, the best feeling washes over the viewer. You know something big could or could not happen. Seeing Renner play Sergeant James, the impetuous hot shot family man with a fetish for pissing off anyone in his radius, is something that should be remembered when 'best war movie' comes up in conversation. The movie is not centered around explosions, the movie is centered around the 'possibility' of an explosion
The flip side to The Hurt Locker, is that there is going to be a group of people who do not get it. There is an air of harshness that the American public and maybe the world at large may not be willing to be sold on. The end of the movie [sans spoilers] depicts the message properly. These men and women have all the reason to complain, to come back to us in not-the-best mental conditions yet very few [if any] do. This is their job and a large sum of them take great pride in what they have achieved. This war as well as any, is ugly. Watching The Hurt Locker you will realize that complex minds exist both on college campuses as well as the battlefield. And each job is just as important to the person up to the task.
This movie bowled me over. The supporting cast, Anthony Mackey and Brian Geraghty really surprise you in illustrating believable personalities. Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce make a special appearance in this movie which was surprising to see play out.
The most surprising aspect of The Hurt Locker was its ability to 'play it down the middle'. It is very easy to put yourself in the shoes of the bomb tech who needs to keep calm in their 128 degree suit while keeping an eye out for a remote detonator. It is also subtly viable to see yourself as the teacher escorting their students out of the school because this Tuesday you noticed a car parked where it should not have been.
The Hurt Locker is amazing, go and see it...
The George C. Scott As Patton Award