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This film won 6 Oscars, including Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow and Best Film. It has also picked up a further 72 Awards around the world and had 46 nominations. Given that kind of attention, there must be something really good about it, either that, or everything else was really bad. I decided it must be the first option, so I decided to get the DVD and give it a spin. I wasn't disappointed; it's a really good, well made film about the Iraq war. But more of my thoughts later, here's a short summary.
The leader of an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit with the U.S. Army's Bravo Company, Staff Sergeant Thompson is killed in the line of duty. With just over a month of their tour to go, the Sergeant is replaced by Sergeant First Class William James. The rest of the team, Sergeant JT Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge are not put at ease by their new CO's cavalier attitude to his work. It seems that James, although a very talented explosives expert, is also addicted to the danger. This puts his team on edge and arguments inevitably ensue. Things calm down when they come across a group of men from British private military company in the desert. They have just captured two wanted Iraqis but their vehicle has broken down. Just as the EOD team offer to help they come under fire from insurgents. Three of the British team are killed before the EOD team get it together and manage to neutralise the threat. This brings them closer and back at base they celebrate before the reality of the war hits them again the next day. I won't say any more, don't want to give too much away.
I found it a really compelling film to watch. Some great cinematography, the explosions, in particular, looked really impressive. Some great performances too, in particular, Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James, Anthony Mackie as Sergeant JT Sanborn and Brian Geraghty as Specialist Owen Eldridge. Honourable mentions go to the supporting cast, including, Guy Pearce as Sergeant Matt Thompson, Ralph Fiennes as Contractor Team Leader, David Morse as Colonel Reed and Evangeline Lilly as Connie James.
I'm quite surprised this film didn't do as well at the box office as its critical acclaim might suggest, however I do remember it coming to a local multiplex and only being on show for a week. But over all I really enjoyed this film, it kept you guessing where it was going next but also allowed you to engage with the characters. The, kind of, documentary style put you right in the centre of the action which made it a more exciting experience. Definitely one of the films of 2009 and I recommend it very highly.
My score: 8.7/10
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Elizabeth B. on 3/31/10 at 12:03 AM
great review!
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E. Android on 3/31/10 at 06:49 AM
Nice review. I'm with you. This was a good film.
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Film Ninja on 3/31/10 at 07:58 AM
Good review. It had some tight suspense.
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sali on 3/31/10 at 02:40 PM
havent seen the flim yet but after reading your review i will. great review
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Awesome Barnhart on 3/31/10 at 07:41 PM
Excellent review
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SciFiMan on 4/01/10 at 10:16 PM
nice review - I could not see this until it came out on dvd
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TheCriticAlex on 4/02/10 at 08:18 PM
Nice review this movie certainly was a compelling film that deserved best picture.
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AlexAJ on 4/05/10 at 02:30 AM
sorry i thought this film was just ok. i thought avatar was just ok aswell. but after watching the hurt locker, i thought avatar should have won. there was almost no suspense in the hurt locker.
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Fail Flicks on 5/23/10 at 03:54 AM
I'm kinda with you. I would've said District 9 for best picture over either of the films James Cameron worked on.Definitely no what you mean by almost no suspense though. It was just bomb defusion after bomb defusion (barring that one sniper battle w/ the pointless cut-away to the bullet shell falling) and it was kind of obvious to me which characters were too important to die (at least not until the end).You could also tell that only a handful of insurgents would die thr
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Alex B. on 9/21/10 at 04:00 PM
Personally, the last thing that I thought about this film was no suspense. This film got praised for it's suspense.
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Jack Linhart on 9/22/10 at 07:43 AM
Why do I have so many misspellings in this comment? Well, whatever it was a long time ago when I wrote this.
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w@velength on 3/31/11 at 03:16 PM
Saying this movie isn't suspenseful is laughable. So you couldn't comprehend the artistic flourishes, we get it, but if you can't appreciate the gravity of a bomb defusing in the middle of a warzone, perhaps it's time to find a hobby other than movies.
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PantaOz on 12/28/10 at 01:29 PM
Agree... nothing special... good for analysing what type of people goes to war (and stays there).
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w@velength on 3/31/11 at 03:17 PM
How is an original film that analyzes what type of people go to war ("and stay there") qualify as "nothing special"? Unfortunately, the reviews, awards, and public word-of-mouth disagree with you. Defend your statement or get out.
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lDlisturb3d on 11/21/10 at 07:39 PM
Pretty much! Enjoyed it! Good Review.
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AndysFilms on 11/21/10 at 11:57 PM
Thanks lDlisturb3d!
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Gordon Franklin Terry Sr on 5/31/11 at 04:13 PM
I hate this film . . . because I hate the Iraq War our soldiers died in vain on the surface . . . however we started a domino-effect regarding democracy in the middle east. I still hate this film . . .
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Gordon Franklin Terry Sr on 5/31/11 at 04:13 PM
but your review is Great . . .thumbs up
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AndysFilms on 5/31/11 at 11:30 PM
No war is good (IMO)... Thanks for the comments Gordon!
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rottenb on 9/06/11 at 07:19 PM
I agree man. Good review
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AndysFilms on 9/06/11 at 10:21 PM
Thanks rottenb!
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