THE HURT LOCKER

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Stars: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, Evangeline Lilly
Year: 2008
Rating: R

Set in Iraq, The Hurt Locker centers on a Explosive Ordinance Disposal team made up of three men whose everyday job is to defuse and disarm the homemade bombs that show up everywhere in Iraq, waiting for some unsuspecting soldier to detonate them. The first ten minutes or so of the film give you an idea of exactly the level of wire-taught tension you can expect from the rest of the movie, especially when SFC William James (Oscar-deserving Jeremy Renner) joins the unit.

James is fly-by-his-pants kind of guy, cocky and with no regards to the rules; he'll do things his own way, no matter what. This comes off as dangerous, early on, to the other two men in his unit - Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie - who, thanks to the hype for Renner, won't get the credit he's due for his performance here), and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty, also terrific here). On his first day, James puts the lives of Sanborn and Eldridge in jeopardy by doing things his way - or, at least, that's how by-the-book Sanborn sees it, and he immediately takes an instant dislike to the very guy he has to trust every day with his life. It becomes obvious to both Sanborn especially, right off, that James gets a high out of his job; that he thrives on the danger, and every day he cheats death gets him the adrenaline rush he needs.

And there's plenty of ways to get that rush in Iraq, as every person or package or even pile of rubble on the street has the potential to be deadly ... plus, while James does the actual work of defusing the bomb, Sanborn and Eldridge - as well as any other military personnel - need to constantly scan the area surrounding them, looking for snipers or a nearby, seemingly curious civilian who might actually be holding the detonator for the bomb itself. The film plays on that, building scene after scene where the unit comes upon a new potential for death - and James becomes that much more addicted to his work. The film is a gritty, disturbing and wholly realistic depiction of life for this unit in Iraq, and will give viewers a real sense of why even men who are coming back from this war physically okay still have their mental demons to deal with.

Kathryn Bigelow's direction is amazing, bringing you right into the action without compromise; you will feel right there when James defuses a bomb, on a drunken night when Sanborn and James settle their differences, or even when James hits the streets of Iraq seeking some revenge (for something I won't say here, of course - no spoilers!). Best of all, the film doesn't depict either the military or Iraqi people in a good or bad light; there is no political statement of the war or Iraq here, and the film really benefits from just being a straight-on, involving story of the people forced to live this life every day, whether American or not. Renner's performance is truly deserving of an Oscar, but he's backed up by an equally-solid cast that all come together to make this one great film.

I usually don't go in for films about war - but after all the hype, had to see this one. Am glad I did; The Hurt Locker is a tense, emotionally involving and very well-made look at the daily lives of men who serve their country faithfully every day, just trying to stay alive long enough to make it home ... even as, for some, it only gets more addictive the longer you stay. ****1/2 - Reel Awesome-Reel Must-See