Let's make a realistic movie about real life and see how many people watch it?
Normally I feel this would be irrelevant but in this case I should point out I am a veteran. I should also point out many people tend to exaggerate their combat expertise and experience and just because you wore a uniform doesn't make you an expert on all things military. As I read these reviews I can't help but laugh. Sure, some movies tend to go way over the top in regards to what's realistic or even plausible but there is one caveat that all of the people who are lambasting the movie based on realism are failing to grasp. Realism doesn't sell; if I were to make a movie about the average day for an average soldier no one would watch it. So you say, what about these documentaries that do well financially following soldiers in war zones? Have you ever met anyone who ever acted one hundred percent natural and themselves when they know they are being filmed? I watched this movie and I think it was a very good, entertaining movie and that's what movies are supposed to do, ENTERTAIN. The...
Taut war drama exploring the psychology of soldiering
The movie opens with the quote - "the rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug" (a modern paraphrase of Churchill's older and more famous maxim - "there is nothing more exhilarating than to be shot at without result")
This is a thriller of a movie about a U.S. Army bomb disposal unit in Iraq and their daily grind in dealing with the IEDs and insurgents there.
This movie does have several stars - but Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pierce, and Evangeline Lilly all have fairly small roles. Blink, and you'll miss them. Their presence in this movie is more a testament to director/producer Kathryn Bigelow's status in the entertainment industry than anything else.
Jeremy Renner is Sergeant James, a bomb tech. Unlike his affable predecessor, he is a wild man. He seems not only indifferent to the dangers of his job, he absolutely revels in the dangers. It is the ultimate in thrill seeking behavior, getting that dopamine surge in his...
Brilliant performance by Jeremy Renner
I wasn't familiar with director Kathryn Bigelow's work prior to watching Hurt Locker (she directed Point Break, K-19, and others), but I am now a convert. She directed a brilliant and visceral Iraq war movie, which unlike many of its peers, is also apolitical. It's not overly preachy (In the Valley of Elah or Stop Loss) or pure action (The Kingdom), but manages to strike its own ground. The scenes are gritty, shaky; thankfully the shaky cam/documentary style footage is tastefully done here. The movie was filmed on location in Jordan, lending to the film's authenticity and immersivity. The viewer can almost taste the dust in the air, and feel the stares from the unwelcoming populace. It's the first mainstream movie to highlight the work of bomb defusal technicians , and it's a thankless and extremely hazardous job. The movie is Black Hawk Down good, albeit on a more intimate level.
The movie follows three members of Bravo Company's Explosive Ordanance Disposal (EOD)...
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