Wonderful character development!

Truly Dreadful Film

Sadly Over-hyped

An Exercise In Nonsense

Yeah see subject. I enjoyed it, but I expected a whole lot more from the amount of awards this movie won, especially over Avatar. And this girl really does enjoy a good war film.

Had high expectations for this movie, but was really let down by it. I found the characters to be unbelievable. The way some of them acted made no sense. I'm not a soldier, but I have so much trouble believing most of what happens in this movie could possibly be acceptable behaviour for soldiers or officers. Could not finish it. Just didn't care anymore after a while.

Technically this is a brilliantly made movie, but on a personal level, I don't understand the accolades thrown it's way, especially the Best Picture win at the Oscars. The film is more a string of related vignettes that could have been presented in any chronological order and you'd have the same movie. Maybe that's the point, as day after day, real life soldiers in a combat situation must face either mind numbing, nerve shattering stress or sheer boredom during down time.The 'war is a drug' theme is what's eventually conceded when Sgt. Will James (Jeremy Renner) is shown home on leave, dutifully cleaning out the gutters of his home and playing with his toddler son. For warriors, the lack of an adrenaline rush is what propels these individuals back into a combat zone leaving loved ones behind to wonder what drives their other half. A similar theme comes through in 2014's "American Sniper", although in this one, the destructive effects of James' war service on his marriage is only hinted at, though there is that one scene in which he questions whether he's married or not.The one scene that threw me was when Sgt. James wound up seeing the young Iraqi 'Beckham' (Christopher Sayegh) after being certain that the boy was already dead. One of the FAQ's on this site answers the question definitively, but I'm sure most viewers would prefer their own interpretation. What would have been interesting at some point might have had Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) confess his demon thoughts about killing James during one of their early missions together. That scene kept intruding on my mind for the rest of the picture, and it might have offered some further insight into how these soldiers approached their impossible jobs.

The Hurt Locker is one of the more critically praised war-based films of all time. Having winning best picture Oscar, the hype was heavily surrounded. For most critics it was well loved, but for several film goers they did not like the film as winning best picture.The Hurt Locker does deliver in terms of its technical aspects and overall directing, cinematography and visuals. It is very well shot, and well edited. And the characters and performances from leads Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie are star making and they instantly elevate the film. One can see some of the criticism some people say about the film that it isn't that action packed and suspenseful. And I can agree, most of the film is of the three crew members in Iraq protecting the area, diffusing bombs and overall protecting themselves from the locals. I did not find it as suspenseful or gripping as it has been described but still an entertaining watch-mainly for the performance of Jeremy Renner. Although quite predictable, though this is a film that seems to require more than one watch.