The Hurt Locker

I love Kathryn Bigelow's films, but The Hurt Locker disappointed me. The main character bothered me terribly (I just don't like these pompous supermen very much), but otherwise I had almost no reservations. The cinematography, the direction, the constant tension in the air, the final idea... Basically, the unknown actors (to me) act well, but it still wouldn't have hurt to have familiar names (!!!Ralph Fiennes!!!) warm up on screen for more than five minutes. Best scenes: A “long-distance" shootout in the desert, a bomb in a child, a shower, the end. Three and a bit. (14/04/2010)

Full Metal Jacket for the new millennium – militant, cynical and predatory. A ballbusting documentary drama about a war-addicted people, about overgrown boys for whom normal life is far too normal. Bigelow loaded a cart full of naturalism, the hot Iraqi atmosphere and brilliant acting. This type of dynamically filmed war drama has been lacking since the days when Scott filmed Black Hawk Down. Like him, Bigelow leaves aside the moral assessment of the conflict and instead goes deep into the characters' psyche and adds a solid portion of irony (something that was missing in Black Hawk Down). There is great portion of raw fight scenes and sweaty dialogues of the average soldier for two solid hours. The Hurt Locker is not trying to get to the heart of the Iraq war, but rather simply capture the strange soul of a warrior. And in this respect, Kathryn Bigelow did a better and more responsive job than her male colleagues. In addition to balls, the film also has empathy... For me, The Hurt Locker is one of the American film highlights of 2009. Perhaps even the best. (07/02/2010)

Kathryn Bigelow understands the tough guy heart better than half of Hollywood's major league action directors. This film about a group of bomb squad technicians stuck in the heart of Iraq and struggling daily with the problem of "red or blue?" could not have been made in any other way than as a suspenseful thriller with a sultry atmosphere of hot streets and desert distances. This is perhaps the first cinematic contribution to the subject that doesn't moralize about the good/bad side of warfare or try to understand the souls of Islamic fighters. Instead, it gives us a glimpse into the lives of those who are left with nothing but cynicism and the belief that any proper course of action to disarm is one that doesn't make you scream. Scenes of pulling bombs out of the ground, searching for a detonator in a car, or saving a suicide bomber are all worthy of a discharge because they make your blood run cold. However, the director is ultimately undermined by the screenwriter's stiffer dialogue and the cheap escapade with little Beckham. Otherwise, it’s damn great! 4 ½. (04/02/2009)

Finally, a proper movie about a bomb squad. Excellently filmed. The opening scene with the robot is flawless. Kathryn Bigelow creates an incredibly exciting atmosphere, and every “disposal" has an ace up its sleeve. I liked Renner in S.W.A.T., and it's a good thing he's sticking to these badass roles. Ralph Fiennes and a small cameo by Evangeline Lilly is also delightful. If there were fewer scenes, I wouldn't hesitate to give it five stars. (21/04/2009)

Let’s make a war movie based on Kathryn Bigelow: We’ll create a setting for a scene and flesh out the location to the last detail. We'll spend the rest of the day explaining to eighty extras what they're supposed to be doing in that location and that they're not supposed to notice the strange people with cameras running around. At the end, we'll put the lead actors on the first marker and explain which way to go and what to do. If a cameraman brings a stabilizer or, heaven forbid, a tripod on set, he'll have 10% of his salary docked. Repeat seven times and we have a feature film. The Hurt Locker could have been perfect if it hadn't stumbled on two things. On a second viewing, we already know that all of the film's visual attributes have been exhausted in the first scene, and from there on the film repeats an established routine. Secondly, despite all sincere efforts, the catharsis comes only in individual scenes through their denouement, but there is no way left to clean up the corners of the whole construct. I wouldn't want to be Cameron coming home from the studio where he's spending his third summer and being told by his old lady: "Tea, where have you been? I put the Oscar on the fireplace, if you don't mind. I'll tell you, that year in Jordan, when we were filming that Hurt Locker, it was hell. I caught dysentery from falafel six times. Yeah, and I went shopping today and I forgot which cornflakes you like. So I grabbed the ones closest to hand. Can you believe they had a whole rack of fucking cornflakes...?" (05/03/2010)