The Hurt Locker
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly
Rated R
Released date: June 26, 2009
“When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.”
— Captain Benjamin L. Willard from Apocalypse Now
“Death is the best kick of all. That’s why they save it for last.”
— Eugene Hunt from Blue Steel
“Life sure has a sick sense of humor, doesn’t it?”
— Bodhi from Point Break
The Hurt Locker: The Ultimate Adrenaline Junkie
The ecstasy of war is at the heart of Kathryn Bigelow‘s brilliant new action thriller, The Hurt Locker. We only need to read the now famous quote from journalist and author Chris Hedges that precedes the film, “War is a drug”, to realize that Ms. Bigelow is the right person to bring Mark Boal‘s screenplay to life. If anyone knows about an addiction to violence and an addiction to the rush of pure adrenaline, it is Kathryn Bigelow. Her previous films such as Near Dark, Blue Steel, Strange Days, K-19: The Widowmaker, and most importantly Point Break deal with adrenaline junkies of one sort or another. She has a natural ability to strip away the fat from subcultures to provide us with a crystal clear acumen of her fascination with them. Her examination of the Army’s elite Explosive Ordinance Squad (EOD) is an exercise in exhilarating and harrowing tension.
The film possesses a level of intensity that few films can match. The Hurt Locker is the thinking person’s action film. Ms. Bigelow has won the pissing contest of 2009, everyone else can go home. She has a natural ability to take all the elements to create a potent and thrilling portrait. Her money shots put the competition to shame this year. She is a master at staging suspenseful and harrowing action sequences. The Hurt Locker has some of the best in recent memory. The Hurt Locker is the epitome of cinematic suspense.
...continue reading »