The Hurt Locker
“The Hurt Locker” is a very powerful movie. If you did not see it in the theater, then you should rent, buy or borrow the DVD when it comes out January 12th.
The special effects are great and as I watched I looked to see if it really looked like Baghdad and Camp Victory. I don’t know where it was filmed, but it could have been filmed right there in Iraq, the set design and costumes were very believing.
The problem with translators, how the people will just plow through a road block, and the turmoil of living in a war zone were very real. You can see and feel SGT James’ inner conflict and his need to satisfy his adrenaline rush even though he is not fully aware of why he does what does. The overwhelming feelings of “Short timers” disease from Eldridge and Sanborn take me back to many Soldiers and Civilians that I met over there that knew they were going home soon. The thoughts that we all push out of our heads when there is a job to be done that creep back in the stillness of the night are very powerful. The unlikely bond that James makes with a young Iraqi boy is one that many a Soldier on many a field of combat will understand.
I can’t wait for the DVD to come out so I can see the extra’s packed with it. I am sure that it will bring up many memories, good and bad!
The Hurt Locker, winner of the 2008 Venice Film Festival SIGNIS Grand Prize, is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the militarys unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives in one of the worlds most dangerous places. Three members of the Armys elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and each other as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad—in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear—protect and save—but its anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the effects of combat and danger on the human psyche is based on the first-hand observations of journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. These men spoke of explosions as putting you in the hurt locker.
Three members of the Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad battle insurgents and each other as they seek out and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad.
