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.
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