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Watching Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker is like having your heart operated on by a construction worker wielding a power pneumatic nail-driver. And the high-voltage stuff, which happens often, is, no joke, on the level of the armed creature-hunting and creature-evading sequences in Aliens, the classic 1986 thriller directed by Bigelow's one-time-squeeze James Cameron. Where are the monsters, will they rise up and kill us when we round the next corner, and do we have a chance of killing them first? Except this time the monsters are just lying there, waiting to go fuck-you-bluh-doom!

Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner

I had a couple of minor issues and confusions, one of them to do with the not-good-enough ending, another about the identity of a minor character who seems to die and then perhaps is alive later on. But you can't sweat the small stuff.

Set in Baghdad and the full maelstrom of that godforsaken conflict, this is a full-power throttle, nail-biting, bomb-defusal suspense film that gradually becomes a kind of existential nerve ride about the risk and uncertainty of everything and anything, plus an explanation of the addiction that war is for some guys who go through it and can't quite leave it alone.

The Hurt Locker is absolutely a classic war film in the tradition of Platoon, The Thin Red Line, Pork Chop Hill, Paths of Glory and the last 25% of Full Metal Jacket, and it damn well better be acquired by someone and set for release sometime between now and 12.31. Because I'm getting tired of this shit.

Something is very wrong with life, the world, human nature and the film business when a movie this knock-down good is still hunting for distribution. I'm obviously aware of all the Iraq War films that died last year but this movie is something else. You don't shun movies like this. If you're a distributor and that's your judgment -- walk away, we can't sell it, we'll lose our shirts -- then you need to get out of the movie business and start selling refrigerators or cars. A buyer told me a little while ago that it only cost about $15 million or less. How could the numbers not work?

This is a huge bounce-back for Bigelow, whose career has been on a low-flame for the last five or six years despite the fine, tight chops she showed on K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) and The Weight of Water ('00). This is unquestionably her best film ever. It's also a great boon for Jeremy Renner, who plays the lead role Staff Sergeant William James, a bomb-defusing risk junkie. It's a solid plus for costars Anthony Mackie and Brian Gerahty, and an occasion for three strong cameos by Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes and David Morse.

There is no "wrong" or "right" judgement about any film, but now that I've seen The Hurt Locker I'm stunned that Variety's Derek Elley could have panned it the way he did, calling it a hellish thing to sit through, and one that says nothing new about the Iraq War U.S. troop experience, and that it takes too long to get to the point (such as it is). What did Elley see over there? Was he on painkillers?

Mark Boal's screenplay is based on his first-hand experience with with a bomb squad in Baghdad sometime in '04 or '05. I loved that it doesn't tell a carefully structured story with some kind of problem that has to solved or catharsis built into the third act. What it is, mainly, is a kind of you-are-there docudrama -- feel it or run from it but this is what's it really like, hombre.

There are something like six or seven action-suspense scenes, but what moves it along, simply, is character. Renner's risk addiction, Mackie's alarm at this tendency (and then his gradual acceptance and even submission), Gerahty's shock and horror at what he encounters almost every day.

Hurt Locker costar Anthony Mackie

The movie starts to get classically emotional a little less than hour in when Renner becomes friendly with a young Arab kid named "Beckham" (Christopher Sayegh). The next beat in this bond shifts into a dark and tragic gear about 25 or 30 minutes later.

I don't want to reveal too much here, but the only thing that didn't feel quite right was a close-to-the-end sequence when Renner goes home to his (divorced?) wife and kid, and right away we can spot the familiar syndrome of the war veteran who can't quite settle down and groove with a midle-class, comforts-of-home lifestyle. I don't want to register a major complaint about this; it doesn't work against the film as much as it fails to add anything significant.

This is probably the best film I've seen at the Toronto Film Festival so far. And to see it I had to blow off my last shot at seeing The Wrestler as well as a 12 noon press screening of I've Loved You For So Long, which I'll at least be able to catch tomorrow night. But no Wrestler, dammit! Sorry, Darren Aronofsky, for this twist of fate. Hoping to see it very soon back in Los Angeles.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 9, 2008 at 11:43 AM

comment #1

EnglishBob says ...

I'm sold. Can't wait to see this one!

Posted by EnglishBob at September 9, 2008 1:09 PM

comment #2

bluefugue says ...

This is encouraging. I've felt for years that Bigelow could be one of the truly great action directors (in the rarefied company of Cameron, Spielberg, Greengrass), but over the years has been hampered by so-so choice of material and other problems. She's a major talent and it would be great if she had a big success with this.

Posted by bluefugue at September 9, 2008 1:20 PM

comment #3

p.Vice says ...

After reading this it's easy to spot that this movie is getting waaaaaaay overpraised. Pretty much every review gushes about how intense and nerve-wracking it is... and then finds a way to offhandedly mention that the story, characters, and structure of the film (especially the ending) all fail to coalesce into something more significant than your standard action-thriller, which one could say about every film Bigelow has made.

Except, of course, Derek Elley, to whom having something to take away from a movie beyond frayed nerves is clearly of more importance than any number of visceral thrills. Maybe this is why everyone's talking about this being the "Iraq" film to cross over... because it's really not about anything other than giving the monkeys some explosions to swoon over.

Choosing this over The Mick... shameful.

Posted by p.Vice at September 9, 2008 1:22 PM

comment #4

Richardson says ...

"then this bond shits into a dark and tragic gear about 25 or 30 minutes later."

for a guy who complains about the lack of copy-editing on reviews at Ain't It Cool News, that's sure a funny typo.

Posted by Richardson at September 9, 2008 1:28 PM

comment #5

The InSneider says ...

TOLDJA! you had this too low on your initial list of must-see Toronto titles. Glad to heae it paid off.

Posted by The InSneider at September 9, 2008 1:56 PM

comment #6

Daviddb says ...

Did you spoil the ending somewhat Jeff by revealing that Renner survives? The first thought that hit me after hearing about this movie is that is plays out something like one of your old faves, "Juggernaut" in the desert...true?

Posted by Daviddb at September 9, 2008 1:57 PM

comment #7

gruver1 says ...

Wells to Daviddb: Forget Juggernaut in the desert...it''s not that. It's four or five Juggernauts in the desert all thrown together, plus some other high-pressure stuff.

Posted by gruver1 at September 9, 2008 2:03 PM

comment #8

actionman says ...

Is it as good as Black Hawk Down (which I consider to be the best war-combat film ever made, and a masterpiece in general)?

Posted by actionman at September 9, 2008 2:15 PM

comment #9

BurmaShave says ...

Any Oscar hopes? Or just a straight ahead down-home war movie?

Posted by BurmaShave at September 9, 2008 2:16 PM

comment #10

p.Vice says ...

Nice re-write. Gotta love the 'net!!

Posted by p.Vice at September 9, 2008 2:23 PM

comment #11

Markj74 says ...

Excellent. I'm a big Bigelow fan and I can't wait to see this. Glad you liked it Jeff.

Posted by Markj74 at September 9, 2008 2:29 PM

comment #12

Mr. Muckle says ...

When "Saving Private Ryan" came out I remember the news media fawning over all the doddering vets coming out of the theater and practically forcing them to say stuff like (re: the opening invasion sequence), "Yeah, it was just like that." To which I thought, oh yeah, sitting in a comfy chair munching popcorn and watching shadows play across a movie screen is just like WWII. And now again here, "this is what it's really like, hombre."

Bullshit. No movie is like what war is really like. And I have a problem with making entertainment out of this deep shithole we've fallen into, especially while it's still going on, even if it does surpass a movie o' the week-quality docudrama. You'd think the obscenity of war is just fodder for good ol' Hollywood storytelling, in which case, we ought to see more of their persuasion voting for you-know-McWho. When the gummint won't let you see real caskets and real funerals or give even a half-assed recounting of civilian dead and wounded, and news media won't show a damn thing for fear of criticism, then we've got much worse problems than selling fictional films.

gruver's enthusiasms in this regard strike me as the narcissistic tinseltown counterpart of low-info WalMart voters, the myopic entertainment-biz worldview that FILM matters, and fuck reality.

Posted by Mr. Muckle at September 9, 2008 2:38 PM

comment #13

JoeBuck says ...

"This is unquestionably her best film ever."

Wow, even better than Near Dark? Can't wait!

Posted by JoeBuck at September 9, 2008 2:41 PM

comment #14

pchu says ...

I like Slumdog more but the Hurt Locker is definitely the best movie about Iraq

Posted by pchu at September 9, 2008 3:05 PM

comment #15

rockne says ...

Bluefugue:

Couldn't. Agree. More.

I think she is a fantastic director. (Just look at the bravura opening to Strange Days). i can still watch that scene and know how good it is, none of its mastery diminished. (The scene was also about five years ahead of its time, presaging the run-and-gun asthetics of first-person shooters.
Why this woman hasn't received far better and timelier material is beyond me.
A cold war movie that was irrelevant when October and Crimson Tide came out? Those movies pulled it off, sure, but coming in third?
I always thought her and Antonia Bird were not given the right material.
Why do they get stiffed and Mimi Leder(???!!!!!) gets the big action movies?
Here's to hoping this gives Bigelow the high-profile movie she deserves.

Posted by rockne at September 9, 2008 3:28 PM

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HoopersX says ...

I really hope that this movie brings Jeremy Renner the attention he deserves. The guy is great on so many different levels and I've always believed he was the right movie away from a Christain Bale like leap into stardom

Posted by HoopersX at September 9, 2008 3:38 PM

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Jay T. says ...

Wells, to sort of qualify your review, I have to ask: did you watch all of Generation Kill and what did you think of it? I remember you mentioning it early on, but don't recall anything after that once the mini-series came to an end.

Posted by Jay T. at September 9, 2008 3:41 PM

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Generation Kill was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.

Posted by actionman at September 9, 2008 3:48 PM

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plastiqueelephant says ...

Great bloody news. It strikes me as pretty darn important that finally a filmmaker has made a compelling film about the war which has defined this decade. And that it's a ludicrously talented but star crossed female director is serious cream. For me, it's fine if the narrative arc isn't the emphasis. Every returning vet I've heard talk about the war talks about episodic it is, just one patrol/fight after another, slowly chipping away at life and character...

Plus, Guy Pearce rocks.

Posted by plastiqueelephant at September 9, 2008 4:14 PM

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StoneFan1 says ...

"Strange Days" is extremely underrated!

Posted by StoneFan1 at September 9, 2008 5:26 PM

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The Bandsaw Vigilante says ...

Agreed. When the fuck is that flick (STRANGE DAYS) going to get a decent treatment on Blu-Ray? I mean, the fricking laserdisc is still hands-down superior to the DVD to this very day.

C'mon, Fox...pull your thumb out of your ass.

Glad to hear Bigelow's back on her "A"-game...she's been probably my most-underrated favorite filmmaker for the past decade or so, and here's hoping she starts getting some bigger work, thanks to this flick.

(Though, the kinky shit I've heard from a good friend who knows her about she and Jim Cameron's married-sexcapades...)

Posted by The Bandsaw Vigilante at September 9, 2008 6:38 PM

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lesterg says ...

Summit Entertainment picked up the US rights to Hurt Locker early this morning.

Posted by lesterg at September 10, 2008 8:13 AM

comment #23

Richardson says ...

"The scene was also about five years ahead of its time, presaging the run-and-gun asthetics of first-person shooters."

I think it's worth pointing out that 'Strange Days' came out in 1995, while 'Wolfenstein 3-D' came out in 1992 and 'Doom' came out in 1993.

So, you're facts are wrong.

I'd disagree with your opinion too, but I like Bigelow and want her to succeed. I just thought 'Strange Days' fell apart really, really quickly.

Posted by Richardson at September 10, 2008 10:35 AM

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Richardson says ...

I hang my head in shame at the "your / you're mistake".

Posted by Richardson at September 10, 2008 11:52 AM

comment #25

rockne says ...

What I meant, and must not have clarified, was that the movie was the first, (and only for a while) to utilize the type of look we find in all first-person shooters now.
Not until Blair Witch, which didn't really use that type of feel, did we see people running with a camera and feel as though we were a participant.
Sorry to offend your acute video game sensibilities and you'll undoubtedly point out a movie that used that same look that I have missed, but for me, that scene came long before the Cloverfields and Quarantines of this recent latching-on of video culture and it did it not to pay homage to a technology that records, but a technology that "shows" you someone's point of view and I'm rambling and tired of this argument.

P.S. Kathryn Bigelow is smokin in that pick in the other posting.

Posted by rockne at September 10, 2008 4:12 PM

comment #26

Richardson says ...

I guess I misunderstood you before. I also might be misunderstanding you now, because it seems like you're saying that she deserves credit for creativity for being the first person to rip off a style from video games, if she even was, which I agree with you is a tentative claim where I also don't care enough about this to dispute.

But, anyway, I always figured that stuff came from Cameron, and, now that I think about it, it's kind of presaged in 'Aliens', isn't it? Helmet POV cams?

Posted by Richardson at September 10, 2008 7:57 PM

comment #27

Richardson says ...

I should clarify that -- I don't give credit for it to Cameron by default, it just felt to me way more like a Cameron sort of thing, based on his career, than a Bigelow thing, based on her career.

Also, I guess he did it in both 'Terminator' movies. That might be why it felt more like his influence to me.

Posted by Richardson at September 10, 2008 7:59 PM

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