The Hurt Locker

Review by Anthony Morris

When their by‑the‑book commander (Guy Pearce) is killed defusing a bomb on the streets of Iraq, the rest of his squad (Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) find themselves saddled with Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) a hot‑shot who plays by his own rules. 

In any other film this would be a formula for the same old tired dramatic conflicts built around the usual shouting match cliches. Instead, director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break) simply shows the three man unit defusing bomb after bomb in a series of some of the most tense and expertly crafted suspense sequences you'll see in this or any other year. 

There is some character development here (and yes, there is a "your reckless antics will get us all killed" scene), but Bigelow isn't interested in showing us people who grow or learn. 

Rather, she's describing a type, a man who having found war can't live without it - and what that means for the men around him who can see a way out of the hell they're in. 

Bigelow shows equal restraint when it comes to making moral statements about the Iraq war. There's nothing going on here but first‑class storytelling as we see who these people are via their work (which is edge‑of‑the‑seat material) and via their down time (which can be just as violent and risky). 

Bigelow has made the first truly great film about the Iraq war, and she's done it by making a film about all war. 

Film‑making doesn't come better.

5 out of 5

The Hurt Locker
Australian release: 18th February, 2010
Official Site: The Hurt Locker
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly
Director: Kathryn Bigelow