Who´s in it?
Jeremy Renner, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes

What´s the plot?
Based on real events, ‘The Hurt Locker’ is a riveting, heart-pounding portrait of the army’s elite bomb squad, as they search out and disarm roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad.

New staff sergeant, William James (Jeremy Renner), lives for the intense experience - when the margin for error is zero. But with only 30 days left of their tour, James begins to blur the line between bravery and bravado – and it’s only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

If you liked ‘Jarhead’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’, you’ll love ‘The Hurt Locker’.

BBFC Consumer Advice
Contains strong language and gory images.
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I have never seen a Kathryn Bigelow film but know this movie recieved six oscars and was extremely hyped up by film critics. Some of what they have said is warranted. The Hurt Locker explores the psychological effect war has on staff sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner)who lives for the thrill of disarming bombs and lives close to the edge when the war take it's toll on him.
Bigelow does superbly well in terms of directing. A lot of the camera shots are handheld and documentary type, which enhances the visual experience of being in war. There are some tense scenes in this and the aspect of the war mentally is interesting. The acting is reasonably good but that's it. This film suffers from lack of depth of the characters even the main one like we don't find out why he is an adrenaline junkie? Also I didn't felt much emotional connection to the narrative, which suffers from the actors like Jeremy Renner conveying little feeling to his character. Near the end of the film when him and his men are fighting in the dark. It was hard to see what was happening as the lighing is too dark and the camera jumps about too much. Furthermore it's a bit long and the story leads nowhere in the end, which left me a bit frustrated. This was overhyped by critics a bit but it's worth a watch.

I saw this film a few weeks ago and think that some of the other reviews are abit harsh on this film; mainly because I really enjoyed it. The plot brings in new twists and turns all the way to the end of the film and there are many sceens that realy grip you and keep your attention. Some of the shots and angles used are extremely good aswell. I also think that this is a different film, in the way that it focuses on a different aspect of war; the more emotional side.

The film started well and shows the particular dangers faced by servicemen in this line of work. Unfortunately the main character goes seriously 'off mission' half way through the film and beyond the realms of possibility as to what a serviceman in Iraq would reasonably (or even unreasonably) do. Shame, as the hype surrounding the film failed to adequately live up to the hype. It wasn't even saved by the odd interesting cameo performance.
2 and a half out of five.