Review - Jennifer Pflughaupt for the Mungles on Movies
So, I finally come back from D.C., get back into the movie thing with The Mungleshow and my first review out of the box is "The Hurt Locker"? Are you friggin' kidding me?! I am probably the luckiest movie fan alive. Can I count the ways I want to revel in Kathryn Bigelow's genius...please, pretty please?
*shakes head in disbelief* Okay, I am back. Seriously, let's talk movie magic, shall we? "The Hurt Locker", directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Jeremy Renner ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"), Anthony Mackie ("We Are Marshall"), Guy Pearce, and Ralph Fiennes; a few of the names that will be appearing in twinkling lights across marquis everywhere, starts off with the proverbial bang, literally. It is 2004 and the war on terrorism is well underway. Bomb tech Staff Sergeant (SSgt) William James arrives at Camp Victory, Iraq as a team chief replacement for a three man Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) team. Every day this team's job is to go outside the wire when duty calls, put their life on the line no matter what the danger, and to save the crumbling world around them. EOD specialize not in the actual warfare you are accustomed to seeing on the silver screen in war-type films, but rather they keep the area in tact by dismantling or blowing up explosives put in place by the enemy. That way the "friendlies" can be safe and can continue on with their mission.
There is little in the way of personal or political propaganda in this story, which is a refreshing take on a war story for a conflict that is still transpiring. "The Hurt Locker" is an honest look inside what it is like to be deployed to Iraq. To be real, there is not much to it. You do your job, make some acquaintances, and if you're lucky, some friends along the way. There is no complaining about stop-loss or having to do something you don't want to do. You just do it. That's how it works.
And this movie works, perfectly. The cinematography alone is fantastic. The special effects are phenomenal without being overdone yet they still portray detail and precision with excellence. Capturing what happens during an explosion and displaying it in a movie is a difficult task to master and present to an audience accurately. However, "The Hurt Locker" nails it. The war violence is there, but not to the point where the viewer needs to close their eyes because it is too gruesome.
There is no situation in the film where I felt as though there was something being shown just for shock value. It is all completely pragmatic. The story line is simple, yet poignant and realistic. This masterpiece really gives the civilian world a true glimpse at the world of Army and urban warfare in Iraq. You may not come out the theater debating politics on this one, but you will come out with an appreciation of how protected Americans really are and how dedicated our armed forces are despite the troublesome challenges they face day in and day out. This is NOT an MTV soap box flick. This is real movie-making in its purest form. I give "The Hurt Locker" 5 out of 5 wedding rings. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this movie and it has redefined what supreme filmmaking and storytelling is all about. "The Hurt Locker" is rated R for war violence and language.
