The Hurt Locker Review

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker (2009) is a heart pounding, terrifying, and raw view into the lives of an American EOD team. Made up of three incredibly different characters, the film follows the team's work, documenting the struggles each character faces, especially the Staff Sergeant James. The film uses carefully selected shot types as well as a realistic setting to create a film to remember.

An especially underrated part of this film is the acting done by Jeremy Renner, who plays Staff Sergeant James. He is the main character of the film, however he is not your typical hero soldier who risks his life for his country and his men. He cares not for medals. Rather, he is a, bluntly put, cocky asshole who has no regard for his safety and will blindly go into certain death situations without a care in the world. Although this may make him look like a hero, Renner's character is meant more to portray the atypical soldier that many people will not envision when they think of a bomb defuser.

Another area of the film that makes it into what it is is the shot types that Bigelow choses. At times when she wants to build suspense as James approaches a bomb, she uses long, panning shots of the landscape and its surroundings to show how barren it is and how alone James is. She will also include quick shots of suspicious men watching James, giving the viewer a feeling that the maker of this bomb may be watching the exact same thing they are. Also, during violent or action scenes, Bigelow uses quick cuts as well as slow motion to speed and slow the action as to give the viewer a sense of what is going on as well as make them realize that complete chaos is unfolding.