DVDfever.co.uk - The Hurt Locker Blu-ray reviewDVDfever.co.uk - Charts, News and Reviews of Blu-rays, DVDs, Games, CDs, Hardware, Laserdiscs, Cinema Films & more
(Blue Steel, The Hurt Locker, K19: The Widowmaker, Mission Zero, Near Dark, Point Break, Strange Days, The Weight of Water, TV: Homicide: Life on the Street, Wild Palms)
Producers:
Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier & Greg Shapiro
Screenplay:
Mark Boal
Music:
Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Cast :
SFC William James: Jeremy Renner
Sgt. JT Sanborn: Anthony Mackie
Spc. Owen Eldridge: Brian Geraghty
SSG Matt Thompson: Guy Pearce
Contractor Team Leader: Ralph Fiennes
Colonel Reed: David Morse
Connie James: Evangeline Lilly
Col. John Cambridge: Christian Camargo
Beckham: Christopher Sayegh
The Hurt Locker
begins with a robot examining a suspect package after the town has been evicted. Uncovering the item, we see that confirms
it contains a bomb. However, upon taking back some explosives to deal with it, a wheel comes off the cart and one of
the soldiers dealing with it has to go out there and do what the robot can no longer achieve. Alas, a resident still in
the area triggers the thing... And for the soldier having to run like hell away from it? Well...
find out.
Taking over from him is maverick SFC William James (Jeremy Renner, right), and disarming bombs in the heat of
Iraq and Afghanistan is what these guys do. They're currently in the former place with 38 days left on Bravo Company's
rotation and they soon realise that James would rather walk towards a bomb in a protective suit than send the robot in,
which not only unsettles the rest of his team but also completely pisses them off because he's putting them in danger
too, namely, Sergeants Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), as is very obvious from
the poster, below-right, where he unwittingly lifts up several bombs at the same time. They have the option of going
to talk to their psych doc, Col. John Cambridge (Christian Camargo), but I can't see that really solving the
problem.
There are several jaw-dropping moments in this film after you see what the EODs (Explosive Ordinance Disposal
technicians in the US Army) have to go through as they're in an impossible situation in a country we never should've
invaded, and it's an easy watch to go through, but you soon realise that there's not a great deal to it, and what there
is, is very bitty and brief.
For example, Ralph Fiennes turns up along the way with a team who have captured some of the Iraqis on the playing cards;
and usual film baddie David Morse turns up as a nasty bastard who'd rather shoot an injured Iraqi, that they come
across, rather than let him be taken away for treatment, a man who would've survived had they got him away within 15 minutes.
It's like a fly-on-the-wall as Eldridge and Sanborn get to know their new team leader, James, who also talks about his
family life at times, but you just don't really care about him or his situation.
If I had to give credit for this, it would be for the fact that it features a mostly unknown cast and there's a lot
more movie makers out there who should also take a punt on this as it would save having to see the same old faces turning
up in many films and TV shows. For fans of Lost, there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it performance from Evangeline
Lilly as James' wife Connie.
The film is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio and there's a gritty look to the picture but it's one
that's intentional and not a defect.
For the record, I'm watching on a Panasonic 37" Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
The sound is in DTS 5.1 HD Master Audio Lossless, although I only had access to it in DTS 5.1, and as you'd expect
there's gunfire and explosions - although not as much as you'd think, but the atmosphere goes well to create
tension at times.
The extras are as follows:
Behind the scenes (12:31):
Interview snippets with various key cast and crew amongst B-roll footage.
Interviews (11:28):
Well, snippets of comments, rather than anything particularly insightful. With 17 chapters in this piece, it's far
better-chaptered than the film itself!
Backstage (12:55):
B-roll footage without interruption.
Photo Gallery:
Does what it says on the tin.
The menu mixes in a slow piece of music from the film with various slooooooooooooooow explosive moments - very effective.
There are English subtitles but the chaptering is ridiculous with only 12 throughout the 131-minute film. Come on,
Lionsgate, sort it out!
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Blu-ray: 
The Hurt Locker
begins with a robot examining a suspect package after the town has been evicted. Uncovering the item, we see that confirms
it contains a bomb. However, upon taking back some explosives to deal with it, a wheel comes off the cart and one of
the soldiers dealing with it has to go out there and do what the robot can no longer achieve. Alas, a resident still in
the area triggers the thing... And for the soldier having to run like hell away from it? Well...
find out.
The film is presented in a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen ratio and there's a gritty look to the picture but it's one
that's intentional and not a defect.
For the record, I'm watching on a Panasonic 37" Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
