The Hurt Locker review

And finally we have a true, solid Oscar contender. It took until July to get one, but now we have a live-action film that stands a chance at the major awards. A Best Picture nomination is probably ensured after the rules were changed to make room for 5 extra contenders.

Kathryn Bigelow is probably most know for her action/sci-fi films like Near Dark, Point Break, and Strange Days. She's a director that concentrates on thrills and certainly delivers here. She succeeds in making a war film set in Iraq that doesn't have the government corruption or atrocities in the area as its focus, but it doesn't feel like propoganda either. It is simply a story of sodliers, their viewpoints, and how they cope with an atmosphere and situations that for some are thrilling and addictive, but for others are a place to let corruption seep out.

People have said this film is without political bias, or apolitical, as Bigelow herself has declared. However, this film is not devoid of message and I'm not sure it's anti-political either. Some soldiers are bad, some are good. Some are emotionally unstable, some are reasonably well-adjusted. Some show kindness, others don't. I've heard various arguments from both sides- some saying it's too gun-ho and is essentially pro-American occupation, some saying it's obviously anti-occupation considering the downfalls and instabilities of the lead character. I think that is a testament to the striking amount of balance this film effortlessly shows, despite the writer having also penned Paul Haggis' heavy-handed "In the Valley of Elah."

Jeremy Renner puts forth certainly Best Actor caliber acting here. His performance is edgy, textured, and still kickass. This film, at its heart, IS an action film, so the protagonist has to be kickass in some way. This film delivers. I also love the supporting cast- Ralph Fiennes, Anthony Mackie, Guy Pearce, David Morse, and Evangeline Lilly all bring something to the table despite having little or diminished screentime. This is Renner's show for sure.

The film is never boring, frequently tense, heartfeltly hilarious at times but certainly disturbing as well. It touches on every range of emotion one can feel towards war while keeping it simple at the center. It just feels like everything clicked and worked exactly as it should have. I extend my congratulations Bigelow and crew and I hope come March next year you have a few statues on your mantles.