"The Hurt Locker"
Director - Kathryn Bigelow
With filming almost over, I decided to create a new section of the blog where I review/analyse various films I have recently watched.
To kick things off I decided to finally go out and buy a film that seemed to spring up from nowhere and which recieved fantastic reviews across the board, while also propelling its leading actor to a "Best Actor" nomination at the Oscars.
Before watching "The Hurt Locker" I wasn't to sure what to expect. On the one hand I couldnt help feel it would be a pro-america, pro-war film aimed at supporting the troops out in the middle east, on the other hand through the trailers and clips I had viewed it seemed to resemble much that the 2007 film "The Kingdom" starring Jamie Foxx had offered. How wrong I was.
By the opening few chapters it had been established this was neither a pro-war film nor a glamorous take on the life of the average soldier. This was a gritty ,thought provoking drama about the current state of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. A film that told its audience war is unpredicatable, hateful and full of suprise.
The films itself was shot in a way that suggested you the viewer were viewing the action through the eyes of one of the american troopers. Ever vigilant for enemy activity the camera would often zoom to various locations along the deserted city to suggest the feeling of being watched. This was superb at building tension and suspense especially during the scenes that put the american soldiers out in the open.
The characterisation of the american G.I's was also superb, Jeremy Renner's performance as the socially isolated and emotially detatched bomb disposer was brilliant and well worth an oscar recognition, while the supporting cast were also great at presenting the constant feeling of suspense and tension. The conflcition between Renner and his squad mates built upon this idea of emotional detatchment and gave something extra to the whole film experience.
To sum up, "The Hurt Locker" offers the viewer a brilliant piece of modern war realism while also offering action lovers a film that doesnt dissapoint graphically. The cast of the film deserve massive congratulation for their performances as emotionaly stable yet constantly uneasy soldiers, and whereas other films of the war genre seem to go about a film all guns blazing, "The Hurt Locker" offered a superb tension thriller with brilliant action and storyline.
IMDB Rating: 8.0 / 10
Director - Kathryn Bigelow
With filming almost over, I decided to create a new section of the blog where I review/analyse various films I have recently watched.
To kick things off I decided to finally go out and buy a film that seemed to spring up from nowhere and which recieved fantastic reviews across the board, while also propelling its leading actor to a "Best Actor" nomination at the Oscars.
Before watching "The Hurt Locker" I wasn't to sure what to expect. On the one hand I couldnt help feel it would be a pro-america, pro-war film aimed at supporting the troops out in the middle east, on the other hand through the trailers and clips I had viewed it seemed to resemble much that the 2007 film "The Kingdom" starring Jamie Foxx had offered. How wrong I was.
By the opening few chapters it had been established this was neither a pro-war film nor a glamorous take on the life of the average soldier. This was a gritty ,thought provoking drama about the current state of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. A film that told its audience war is unpredicatable, hateful and full of suprise.
The films itself was shot in a way that suggested you the viewer were viewing the action through the eyes of one of the american troopers. Ever vigilant for enemy activity the camera would often zoom to various locations along the deserted city to suggest the feeling of being watched. This was superb at building tension and suspense especially during the scenes that put the american soldiers out in the open.
The characterisation of the american G.I's was also superb, Jeremy Renner's performance as the socially isolated and emotially detatched bomb disposer was brilliant and well worth an oscar recognition, while the supporting cast were also great at presenting the constant feeling of suspense and tension. The conflcition between Renner and his squad mates built upon this idea of emotional detatchment and gave something extra to the whole film experience.
To sum up, "The Hurt Locker" offers the viewer a brilliant piece of modern war realism while also offering action lovers a film that doesnt dissapoint graphically. The cast of the film deserve massive congratulation for their performances as emotionaly stable yet constantly uneasy soldiers, and whereas other films of the war genre seem to go about a film all guns blazing, "The Hurt Locker" offered a superb tension thriller with brilliant action and storyline.
IMDB Rating: 8.0 / 10
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