“The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug,” states a quote from war correspondent Chris Hedges at the beginning of “The Hurt Locker.”
The action-packed war film set in Iraq in 2004 is a hair-raising adrenaline rush that follows three members of Bravo Company’s bomb disposal unit as they work to defuse a series of IEDs, or roadside bombs, in the streets of Iraq, all the while trying not to be picked off by insurgent gunfire.
There’s Spec. Owen Elderidge (Brian Geraghty), who’s a bundle of nerves and seemingly out of his element, and Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), a professional who follows protocols and procedures in the best hope of getting out alive.
Then there’s Staff Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner), a replacement to the unit’s previous bomb-technician leader who is killed in an explosion. James comes off initially as a cocky bastard considered “reckless” by the others and hell-bent on a death wish. But he also has what it takes to disarm even the most sinister bombs, and in time a more caring side of him comes through.
The film follows the threesome unit as they start a 38-day rotation on a handful of nerve-racking missions, wherein James’s disengaging of bomb wires is undoubtedly the scariest moments to watch. Renner gives a gripping performance as Staff Sgt. James, the risk-taker and adrenaline junkie whose disregard for protocol rubs the others raw.
“The Hurt Locker” is a powerful film due to its authenticity and its script. Written by journalist Mark Boal, who was embedded in Iraq with a bomb squad, and shot close to the Iraq border in Jordan, the film plunges viewers into feeling what war is like, and the risks soldiers take. Except for small roles by Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pierce, the other actors in it are relative unknowns, and don’t distract from the film’s realistic war story and look. I found “The Hurt Locker” quite intense and effective, but for those who don’t care for men and war films, it’s perhaps not meant for everyone.
