The Hurt Locker is, essentially, a series of short stories, counting events of an American bomb squad in Iraq over the period of four weeks, strung together by a developing relationship with a new team member and an “I hate war, but I love war” theme.
This theme is tiresome, whether it’s explicitly taken as relating to war or as symbolising something more general, but the film is entertaining nonetheless. There are a few drawn out, dull moments but they are outnumbered by edge-of-your seat moments, especially when bomb defusing is involved. Bombs are pretty exciting. On screen, at least.
Jeremy Renner does a fine job in the lead role, although there is too much, noticeable, effort to make him a complex character. This is as much down to the script and the direction, but it is a small complaint; neither are bad by any stretch of the imagination. The supporting cast is also commendable and cameos from Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and Evangeline Lilly spice things up further.
1st Sep 2009 | Official site | On IMDb
