"War is a Drug”

Upon the opening sequence of the film, the audience is immediately immersed in the tension of an elite bomb disposal unit (Bravo company) thirty nine days before the end of their rotation in the war torn and gritty streets of Baghdad during the worst times of the second Iraq war. 

Although lacking the action of a fast paced, adrenalin charged, big budget Hollywood war movie, (like Black Hawk Down) The Hurt Locker packs a surreal punch and never lets up on the suspense associated with the sequences on the screen creating constant tension. The drama introduces the cinema goers to each of the main characters.

The actors were all relatively unknown. Sergeant Sanborn, played by Anthony Mackie, was the unit commander who was a competent and capable officer that inspired through his leadership younger members of his team.

Sergeant James, brilliantly portrayed by Jeremy Renner, the soldier dedicated with disarming the improvised explosive devices, may seem reckless at times but has personal reasons for being so. Specialist Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), a young soldier in the midst of a war that he doesn’t understand, hoping to stay alive long enough so he can go home after the unit rotation, but is haunted by the death of a senior colleague.

From one scene to another, the unit is constantly on the edge with various elements around them and one single mistake could cost them their lives and that of others.

The movie takes you on a realistic, shotgun ride with frontline soldiers in the battlefield as they engage an elusive and invisible enemy. The film doesn’t take any ideological stances, but simply shows how a regular soldier feels and reacts to combat and the question of personal mortality.

Personally I enjoy action films, so perhaps more could have done to enhance the combat sequences, just to make the film more entertaining and capture the commercial appeal. Instead, the audience is on consistent suspense, feeling like you could be blown up yourself! In saying that, the drama makes for an emotional journey and a powerful, thought provoking film.

It is a “near perfect movie”

4 out of 5 stars.