"War is a drug," writes Christopher Hedges in the epigraph that precedes "The Hurt Locker." Someone else described war as "interminable boredom punctuated by moments of stark terror." Director Kathryn Bigelow comprehends both those observations and conveys them in this captivating, completely immersive action thriller. "The Hurt Locker" just happens to be set in Iraq in 2004, but, like the best films, transcends time and place, and in the process attains something universal and enduring. "The Hurt Locker" is about Iraq in the same way that "Paths of Glory" was about World War I or "Full Metal Jacket" was about Vietnam -- which is to say, utterly and not at all. "The Hurt Locker" is a great movie, period.Read the whole review, here. The official movie homepage is here.
Ed Morrissey reviewed the film a couple of weeks ago, "Film Review: The Hurt Locker." He notes a key point:
Unlike all of the other films about Iraq, The Hurt Locker does not take a position on the politics of the war; instead, it focuses on high-tension situations for an occupying force and the populace, and the dangers of fighting an insurgency. It almost gives a sense of suffocating paranoia, especially in the early sequences of the movie. In that sense, the audience can appreciate The Hurt Locker without the rancor of the war debate influencing it.Go see it!
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