Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker (2009)

This is a movie that will blow you away. Yes, that was an awful pun, but it's also true. The Hurt Locker is a masterpiece and one of the greatest war films ever made. As bold as it initially may seem, I have no problem making that statement. This film will go down in history with Platoon, Apocalypse Now, The Thin Red Line, and a few others as absolute classics of the genre. Kathryn Bigelow has long been an accomplished and respected action director, the rare woman in a genre dominated by men, and she has proven again and again that she can deliver as much or more than the rest of Hollywood. Now with The Hurt Locker, Bigelow has raised the bar considerably.

The Hurt Locker follows the daily grind of a three-man bomb-disposal team in Iraq sometime in 2004. Jeremy Renner, in a star-making performance if there ever was one, stars as Staff Sergeant William James, a brilliant but reckless bomb disposal technician whose convention-defying tactics are a constant source of exasperation for Sergeant JT Sanborn, played by the excellent Anthony Mackie, and Specialist Owen Eldridge, portrayed with a great mix of bravado and vulnerability by Brian Geraghty. Astute film goers may recognize Renner, and perhaps even Mackie, but make no mistake, these are three relatively unknown leads and the film's rough realistic approach benefits greatly from the lack of star power. I have long been a fan of Jeremy Renner, particularly his work in The Assassination of Jesse James and 28 Weeks Later, and in some ways he builds on his persona from the latter film while also introducing a great deal of humanity to the role. This is a man who is so good at what he does, so confident in his skills in these terrifying life-threatening situations, that he doesn't bother to think of his teammates at all, instead focusing everything he has on the explosive task at hand. As you may imagine, this doesn't go over too well with his new teammates, and the constant battles between Renner and Mackie are just as intense as any explosion or gunfight. Speaking of Anthony Mackie, he delivers a performance to match that of Renner, crafting an extremely believable portrait of a man living and working on the edge, and fighting every day to get himself and his team through to the end of the day. Both performances are truly remarkable and completely deserving of Oscar nominations, although I fear they may be lost in the shuffle when awards season rolls around. There is also a trio of excellent cameos by Guy Pierce, Ralph Fiennes, and David Morse, with each actor creating a lasting impression in his brief amount of screen time.

Unlike many of the more famous war films, The Hurt Locker is a relatively small picture. There are no operatic sweeping shots of epic battles. In fact, there really aren't any epic battles at all. Bigelow is more concerned with the stories of the men on the ground and the toll such a job takes on the men who put their lives in danger on a daily basis. As such, Bigelow smartly focuses on the way the three primary characters feel and interact with each other, both on and off the battlefield. This is the heart of the story, as the film would collapse under its own weight with a trio of less capable leads. Each morning when the team goes out on another bomb call, we are shown the amount of days left in the current deployment. This serves as a sort of deadly and exhausting reminder that, even with the successful diffusion of another bomb, there are still plenty of days and chances left to die in the desert sun.

The bomb disposal scenes themselves are astoundingly tense. The film is filled with several unbelievable set-pieces which find James, Sanborn, and Eldridge in the middle of a barren Iraqi street, the two men nervously scanning the many windows and alleyways as James attempts to disarm enough explosives to level a city block. The variety and execution of these scenes is nothing short of a triumph and, with the exception of one amazing slow motion shot, the film is a toned-down affair compared to some of Bigelow's past work (Point Break -- I'm looking at you). This down-and-dirty, realistic approach extends to the film's camera work, which captures the look and feel almost of a documentary, as the sandy brown streets and hot sun-bleached sky make you feel like you are right there, risking your life alongside James and Sanborn.

It should also be noted that, although The Hurt Locker is an Iraq War film, it never once politicizes the war. Instead, Bigelow opts to keep her opinion of the war to herself, instead simply showing the men (there are barely any women among the cast) on both sides doing what they need to do and what they believe is right. The film never renders an opinion, never unnecessarily vilifies the insurgents, and never devolves into flag-waving glorification. The Hurt Locker simply shows the sweat, blood, and tears that every man experiences on the battlefield. Kathryn Bigelow, with considerable help from the amazing cast, has crafted an action-filled war film that is in essence a character study. There are no deep questions to ponder, no political agenda to decipher, there is just a simple story of three men, living and working together, all while trying to stay alive to work another day. Bigelow's more than capable direction, perhaps the two best performances of the year, and some of the most riveting action scenes ever filmed all add up to make The Hurt Locker the best film of 2009 so far. This is a perfect movie. 5 out of 5 stars.