The Hurt Locker

I love Kathryn Bigelow's films, but The Hurt Locker disappointed me. The main character bothered me terribly (I just don't like these pompous supermen very much), but otherwise I had almost no reservations. The cinematography, the direction, the constant tension in the air, the final idea... Basically, the unknown actors (to me) act well, but it still wouldn't have hurt to have familiar names (!!!Ralph Fiennes!!!) warm up on screen for more than five minutes. Best scenes: A “long-distance" shootout in the desert, a bomb in a child, a shower, the end. Three and a bit. (14/04/2010)

I have a problem with this film. It derives all of its atmosphere and suspense from the banal fact that a bomb might (or might not) go off at any time. Its characters are uninteresting, the dialogue is horrible and the dramaturgical framework almost non-existent (it’s just a series of situations that the characters facing death have to survive). On the other hand, these very flaws make it all the more realistic and valuable as a testimony from the given places. Maybe all this movie needed was to decide whether it wanted to be an exciting thriller or an interesting docudrama. (20/12/2009)

I can't say that this award-winning Oscar drama knocked me off my feet, and it won't make it into my top war movies either, as it lacks a cohesive plotline, and the characters, except for the main protagonist, are merely sketched out. It's a depiction of several fragmented scenes from the operations of a unit focused on neutralizing explosives. The authenticity in capturing the overall atmosphere in Baghdad and war-torn Iraq can definitely be appreciated. In comparison to Kathryn Bigelow's film, Hollywood's so-called war movies, like for example Three Kings, seem rather awkward. However, the authenticity of individual scenes and the protagonist's experiences are not all that magnificent. In reality, playing it safe and adhering to caution is much more common, and a soloist indulging in adrenaline would not be understood by their unit colleagues, and especially not by their superiors. I estimate that they would've earned themselves an end to their mission at least three times due to their escapades. American units are specialized and usually call in the appropriate special forces to handle extraordinary situations, so pyrotechnics specialists interfering with the work of snipers or clearing adjacent sectors of terrorists is pure fiction. Another aspect to appreciate in this drama is the absence of the usual patriotic pathos, clichés, and above all, political correctness. Kathryn Bigelow also avoids unnecessary naturalistic repulsiveness, as war in her interpretation is stress, fatigue, constant tension, dirt, and waiting for the end of the mission. Overall impression: 80%. (01/04/2010)

Let’s make a war movie based on Kathryn Bigelow: We’ll create a setting for a scene and flesh out the location to the last detail. We'll spend the rest of the day explaining to eighty extras what they're supposed to be doing in that location and that they're not supposed to notice the strange people with cameras running around. At the end, we'll put the lead actors on the first marker and explain which way to go and what to do. If a cameraman brings a stabilizer or, heaven forbid, a tripod on set, he'll have 10% of his salary docked. Repeat seven times and we have a feature film. The Hurt Locker could have been perfect if it hadn't stumbled on two things. On a second viewing, we already know that all of the film's visual attributes have been exhausted in the first scene, and from there on the film repeats an established routine. Secondly, despite all sincere efforts, the catharsis comes only in individual scenes through their denouement, but there is no way left to clean up the corners of the whole construct. I wouldn't want to be Cameron coming home from the studio where he's spending his third summer and being told by his old lady: "Tea, where have you been? I put the Oscar on the fireplace, if you don't mind. I'll tell you, that year in Jordan, when we were filming that Hurt Locker, it was hell. I caught dysentery from falafel six times. Yeah, and I went shopping today and I forgot which cornflakes you like. So I grabbed the ones closest to hand. Can you believe they had a whole rack of fucking cornflakes...?" (05/03/2010)

Kathryn Bigelow understands the tough guy heart better than half of Hollywood's major league action directors. This film about a group of bomb squad technicians stuck in the heart of Iraq and struggling daily with the problem of "red or blue?" could not have been made in any other way than as a suspenseful thriller with a sultry atmosphere of hot streets and desert distances. This is perhaps the first cinematic contribution to the subject that doesn't moralize about the good/bad side of warfare or try to understand the souls of Islamic fighters. Instead, it gives us a glimpse into the lives of those who are left with nothing but cynicism and the belief that any proper course of action to disarm is one that doesn't make you scream. Scenes of pulling bombs out of the ground, searching for a detonator in a car, or saving a suicide bomber are all worthy of a discharge because they make your blood run cold. However, the director is ultimately undermined by the screenwriter's stiffer dialogue and the cheap escapade with little Beckham. Otherwise, it’s damn great! 4 ½. (04/02/2009)