THE HURT LOCKER
CAROLINE: I took it upon myself to see “The Hurt Locker” because of its massive critical acclaim. I don’t think I’ve heard one bad thing about this movie. All I knew was it’s about bomb deployers in the Iraq War; and even though you and I don’t love war movies, the buzz was so deafening that I figured one of us had to see it.
RYAN: I’ve heard a lot of buzz too, but I’ve kind of sworn off war movies these days. I can barely take them anymore.
CAROLINE: Then this movie is definitely not for you. It almost feels like a documentary. Basically it’s a series of vignettes more than it’s a film. It follows three guys, and it’s very gritty and realistic. But it almost didn’t even feel like a movie. There’s not really a plot; it’s more like a glimpse of what these guys are doing in Iraq. And it’s not pretty. You could practically feel the desert heat rising off the screen. So it’s well done in that respect, but I don’t know if I’d call it enjoyable or a great movie.
RYAN: It sounds intense. I can’t imagine doing what those guys do, much less watching it for two hours. Was it too long?
CAROLINE: It dragged a little, but the length wasn’t really an issue for me. The lead bomb deployer guy, Jeremy Renner, is incredible. His acting was great. I just kept wishing there had been more story. I was a little disappointed.
RYAN: Are there any women in it?
CAROLINE: Ha, that’s a good question. Barely any. Though there is one in the form of Evangeline Lilly from TV’s “Lost.” She has a tiny part at the end as Renner’s wife.
RYAN: Welcome to the big screen, Kate!
CAROLINE: She looks great, but this is not a girl movie at all, despite having a female director.
RYAN: Is it really gory and violent?
CAROLINE: Yeah, it’s got some pretty gruesome scenes. I’ve seen worse, but it’s still pretty bad. It’s a very loud war movie that really shows it like it is. Or least like what I imagine it is over there. Interestingly, I had heard this movie had no stars in it, but there are several celebrity cameos. They all appear in the movie very briefly; but it’s more fun when you don’t know they’re there, so I shan’t reveal names.
— BOTTOM LINE —
CAROLINE: There are some things I liked about it, but overall, I was a little underwhelmed. The acting is great and it’s well shot and all that, but it just wasn’t very satisfying. But my expectations may have been too high because of all the praise it’s been getting.
RYAN: Well, it’s rare for a movie that came out during the summer to get this kind of rave reviews. Usually they come out in October, November and December.
CAROLINE: Totally, and I’ve already heard Oscar buzz about this one, especially since there will be double the Best Picture nominees this year. I really don’t see it as the best film of the year even though it’s well made and very true-to-life. It shows you something you’ve never seen before, unless you’ve been in the military recently. I would not recommend it for people who’ve lost anyone in the war or have family and friends currently over there.
— RATING —
