I Finally Saw The Hurt Locker

After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, I finally saw The Hurt Locker over the weekend. This film is easily Kathryn Bigelow’s best film as far as I’m concerned and definitely one of the best I’ve seen all year. Granted, I’ve never really being a fan of Bigelow’s work before. I wasn’t blown away by Near Dark, I laughed my head off all the way through Point Break and I cringed during Strange Days primarily because of the POV murder of Iris the prostitute. I had a few classes in university with the actress who played her and she was a nice girl, so looking at her in that kind of context made me want to barf (Although I didn’t like the film, I loved how the camera never stopped moving, no matter what was happening on screen). Normally, I wouldn’t have rushed out to see this film if it didn’t star Jeremy Renner, an actor I think is so good, he can make me think that: 1) Jeffrey Dahmer was just a little misunderstood!

He’s Just Lonely You Guys! (Dahmer, 2002) 2) All a neo-Nazi needs is a little brown sugar booty call to get him back on track.

Once You Go Black… (Neo Ned, 2005) 3) He never would have shot that drugstore clerk if he didn’t practically get his eye punched out of his head. Sorry! My Bad...(Take, 2007) 4) I know he's suppposed to be dead in this scene you have to see this guy’s ass?!?

Niiiiiiiiiiicccce!(The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, 2007) Renner always seems to be teetering on the edge of his big break but somehow it never seems to happen and current audiences’ aversion to the Iraq War will probably keep it that way for now. And that’s too bad for him and it’s too bad for everyone involved in this film. The Hurt Locker is so suspenseful, you are gritting your teeth in stress after only 10 minutes of watching it. Although there are a few predictable scenes (deskbound soldier picks the wrong day to ride along with the troop and the “Why don’t you two macho men knock it off with punching each other in the stomach, take off your pants and start making out already!!!”) it’s difficult not to get swept up in what's progressing on the screen and really get into the fear and the adrenaline these people face on a daily basis knowing that if you make just one wrong move, you're dead and done. That includes Iraqis, not just foreign born soldiers. Critics are already screeching about Oscars but if you get the chance, go see it in a theatre because it's getting wider distribution on July 24th .