Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]

Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]
by Kathryn Bigelow

Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, Jeremy Renner, Ralph Fiennes
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Brand: SUM
Blu-ray: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 130 minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: 2010-01-12
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen

Movie Reviews of Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Probably one of the best war films of the decade
Summary: 5 Stars

Ever since the 9/11 attacks on the United States, Iraq and its relationship with terrorism has been a hot-button topic. Between the weapons of mass destruction and the constructed civil war, people have questioned the purpose and validity of an Iraq intervention, making the Iraq War, like most others, a largely complex issue. Especially if the war seemingly has the greatest purpose of national security for some, whereas others see the war as useless or a distraction from a greater threat. In any case, the Iraq War has always been something drummed up or put down by its delicate image, constantly thrown in the moral spotlight of good vs. evil. But even with such spotlight, in its sixth year, the Iraq War is something oddly abstract and quickly fading from the public conscious.

The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break), is a cross-section of the Iraq War. It is a film that takes the detail of a single bomb squad without centering the plot in some type of moral conundrum. The movie starts in Iraq and ends in Iraq, and for about 99% of the run time, all you see is Iraq and a war with characters acting as real soldiers, as real people. Bigelow's and screenwriter Mark Boal's greatest accomplishment with this film manifests in how determined they are to make a war film that isn't weighed down by fantasy or idealism, but instead authenticity.

Indeed, the film begins with a bomb squad in Iraq that mixes robotics and hand-to-hand techniques for disarming a bomb left in the middle of the street. Everyone in the city appears as a threat and anyone that moves at all out of line becomes a target for suspicion. Hence, within the first moments, there is already a sense of urgency and tension as the bomb diffusing sergeant (played by Guy Pearce) attempts to fix the problem. And well, not everything goes according to plan, and the bomb explodes. But what is so great about this moment is how sensitive Bigelow treats this scene. She focuses slightly on the grandiose nature of the explosion, but then focuses on smaller things--like the jittering rust on a car, and the rattling pebbles in the sand and the seemingly voyeur-esque moments where Iraqis stare at the soldiers from their homes. And as a result, within the first moments of the film, the audience knows that Bigelow's focus is not exaggeration; instead she wants to explore the smaller moments within the war-zone.

Which is why it makes sense that the movie feels like episodic moments with the bomb squad rather than a continuous overarching plot. The Sergeant who dies in the explosion is replaced by a "wild-man," Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner), who is more comfortable diffusing bombs than his predecessor. He leads his team that consists of Sergeant JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) in a series of bomb diffusing situations. But while the film doesn't have an overarching bad guy (thankfully), the script does progress as a tour-in-the-life of the three soldiers as the bond through their shared experiences. Yet, never do they have a great catharsis of friendship or disdain--instead their relationship grows as much as it can within the petri-dish-confines of war.

No doubt, character development in the film is almost perfect. Not only does Bigelow and Shoal depict the three soldiers with succinct storytelling, they also manage to touch base on the different attitudes soldiers have about war. James is the team-leading anti-hero who finds the adrenaline of war satisfying--more so than most things in life, which is excellently portrayed in the final moments of the film when he returns briefly to his home and stands in the endless sea of cereal boxes in the grocery store, looking completely burdened by the banality of his "ordinary" life. Sanborn is a middle ground between the other two soldiers. He is not a proponent of war nor complete afraid of his duty. He is understanding of the task at hand and does not stray away from his role on the team. And then there is Eldridge, the presumably youngin' who is afraid to die but nonetheless is fighting in a war. Yet, even with Eldridge's fear and anxiety about battle, his character never becomes completely overwhelmed with the fear to where drama surrounds him completely.

Not only does Bigelow create believable and balanced characters, she also depicts a seemingly indifferent Iraq, which comes as a result to her non-existent political tone. There is both camaraderie between some soldiers and Iraqis whereas there is also disdain. Similarly, the dialogue is not encumbered with American propaganda for freedom or liberty or whatever while at the same time does not have Iraqis demonizing Americans as cruel people. Most of the feelings about Americans within Iraq come through visuals; Bigelow lets the camera do the talking and instead of overthetop and overt speeches--the bare-naked piercing stare of several Iraqis looking at a soldier with a gun is enough to know what is what. For example, one of the greatest instances of how sliced the American perspective and the Iraqi perspective can be in this war occurs when a man walks into the middle of a street with a bomb attached to him. William James attempts to diffuse the bomb, but it goes sour, and so the bomb explodes with James in a close distance being propelled to the ground. As he looks up, dazed from the blast, he sees a kite flying, and notes a kid nearby flying the kite.

While there really is no contest on films about the Iraq War, the Hurt Locker stands as one of the best films of the year and probably of the decade. And no doubt, it should be added to the cannon of great American war films. Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Shoal have captured war without the moral bells and whistles. This film has a grand showcase of little moments, of rippling sand, of running goats, of children's laughter, of how boring and tiring and frightening war can be. Of course the legitimacy of the Iraq War can be argued probably forever, yet what goes on there is both trash and treasure for soldiers serving duty.

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Summary of Hurt Locker [Blu-ray]

Synopsis: 0
Item Type: DVD Movie
Item Rating: R
Street Date: 01/12/10
Wide Screen: yes
Director Cut: no
Special Edition: no
LanguageENGLISH
Foreign Film: no
Subtitlesno
Dubbed: no
Full Frame: no
Re-Release: no
Packaging: Sleeve Please note: This supplier will be closed on 11/24, 11/25, 12/26, 1/2 for the holidays. The shipping cut off is 12/10 to try and have the products delivered by Christmas.

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