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When it was released in early 2009 it became one of the most critically acclaimed films of 2009 so my expectations were rather high. When I saw it, I thought it was brilliant! This film reminded me a lot of The Kingdom and Black Hawk Down because it is set in a poor environment. Also the plots are quite similar especially between The Kingdom and The Hurt Locker because they are both set in Iraq. There have been a lot of action-war films in the noughties where they have sucked or just been decent either because of weak plot or bad directing. The Hurt Locker became in my opinion the best action-war film of the decade. The plot was very clever and it was quite simple as well. The visual effects, make-up and production design were all absolutely terrific! No doubt it'll be nominated Best Picture so it should but I don't think it totally deserves the Best Picture award.
Jeremy Renner's performance was really good as Sergeant First Class William James. He becomes the team leader of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit replacing Staff Sergeant Thompson, who was killed by a remote-detonated improvised explosive device (IED) in Baghdad. He joins Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge, whose jobs are to communicate with their team leader via radio inside his bombsuit, and provide him with rifle cover while he examines IEDs. He is a contender to be nominated Best Leading Actor this year but I don't think he should be nominated for it because he just doesn't seem as good as Colin Firth, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Morgan Freeman and Viggo Mortensen look in their films. Anthony Mackie's performance was great as well. Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce and David Morse give good performances in supporting roles too.
Kathryn Bigelow directed this film brilliantly! Was directed a lot like how Ridley Scott directed Black Hawk Down but better. She has always been an underrated director and The Hurt Locker is her breakthrough film where she could earn Oscar glory. She deserves the Oscar for me if Tarantino doesn't win. Personally, I don't think there could have been a better director for this film. Bigelow really shows the horror of war and what British and American soldiers are going through in Iraq right now. For this reason, The Hurt Locker is a soul catching film that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. The script was absolutely fantastic too.
Overall, The Hurt Locker is a fantastic war film that is definitely one of the best war films of all time. It is a favourite for Best Picture but I think that some other films deserve it more. Highly recommended!!
9/10
