The Hurt Locker

There have been plenty of films that try and try again to give us the feel of what it is like in Iraq. I can't name these movies off the top of my head but I do remember that they didn't really get it right. The Hurt Locker gets it right. It's almost perfect in it's representation of the war in this field of duty.

The story follows an EOD bomb squad located in Baghdad over a year long stay. It starts with the team trying to disarm the first bomb that we're exposed to. Unfortunately, the team's bomb technician is killed on this mission because of a roadisde terrorist detonating the bomb with his phone. We are then introduced to the new bomb technician, William James (played by Jeremy Renner who could be on the short list for best actor). He is incredibly smart, but he acts pretty impulsively, putting his team in more danger than they need a handful of times. There isn't really a whole lot of a story to follow, it's mainly just a lot of gripping scenes taking us from one mission to the next.

This movie is hands down the best that i've seen this year. There honestly was no moment where I wasn't on the edge of my seat. It's not gory at all, but you are always filled with that scared feeling because you can not trust anyone you see and you really don't know what's going to happen from mission to mission. The relatively unknown cast (Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, etc.) really does an awesome job in embodying what it is like to be on a squad like this. I've never seen a film like this. It is so gripping all throughout the film. Never a dull or unimportant moment. In my opinion, the leading contender for best actor and best picture for this year's Oscars.

Rating: 4 out of 4 stars In expanded release in select cities. Becoming more widely released week by week

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhQdJTlo5NI