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)

Quite intimate and unfortunately often also quite uninspiring. It has some truly revolutionary elements and some already seen a hundred times over. In the end, it’s average. A big plus is the fact that Bigelow doesn't lean towards any side. she works as an observer and doesn't add or subtract anywhere, and that’s not very easy – none of the great war movies I can think are 50-50. The sound design is excellent, and will surely be appreciated by connoisseurs and home cinema owners. The sniper exhibition and explosions are especially outstanding. The psychology is average, I expected more. Considering that the competitor was a pleasant, although relatively conceptually stale Avatar, I quite understand the Oscars. (04/04/2010)

It's a mystery to me how this brilliant flick didn’t get a wider audience response. What Stone's Platoon meant for an "alternative look" at the Vietnam conflict, Kathryn Bigelow's film means for the current U.S. Army mission in Iraq, and for its guys, who are there trembling for their lives and counting each day until the end of their tour of duty. The film doesn't moralise, it doesn't lecture, it just offers blood, sweat, frustration, the dust of Iraqi roads, fear of death and general paranoia, where even an Iraqi with a camera can be a potential terrorist. Not since Mendes's Jarhead has there been such a good military-themed film. (13/05/2009)

I have a problem with this film. It derives all of its atmosphere and suspense from the banal fact that a bomb might (or might not) go off at any time. Its characters are uninteresting, the dialogue is horrible and the dramaturgical framework almost non-existent (it’s just a series of situations that the characters facing death have to survive). On the other hand, these very flaws make it all the more realistic and valuable as a testimony from the given places. Maybe all this movie needed was to decide whether it wanted to be an exciting thriller or an interesting docudrama. (20/12/2009)

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)