What exactly is The Hurt Locker?

Is war hell? I’m asking you, because I’ve never served in the military. For those of you who have served, your sacrifice and patriotic commitment are to be commended and respected. That being said, I ask you again, is war hell? According to Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker, actually released in 2008, for some, war equates to an addictive drug. And that’s the narrative that fuels the intense fire that burns throughout this film.

After Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce), who’s the leader of an elite unit that diffuses road side bombs in Iraq, meets his untimely demise, in steps Sergeant First Class William James (Jeremy Renner) to lead the unit through its last month of deployment. Even though we only meet Mr. Thompson for a brief few minutes, he seems like a down to earth, rational type who owns the respect and friendship of his team, consisting of Sergeant JT Sandborne (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). Ah, but a movie isn’t a movie without conflict, and that’s exactly what Mr. James brings to the picture.

It seems Mr. James is one beer short of a six pack. On his first mission with the team, he refuses to use the robot to check out a bomb; he throws caution to the wind, and suits up in the “blast suit,” and struts up to the explosives like they’re Easter Eggs. Needless to say, this doesn’t go over well with the team (especially Sandborne), who just want to get the hell out of there alive. (One can’t blame them). And thus, as in almost all war movies, conflict is born, not only with the enemy, but within the unit. James is constantly putting his unit in jeopardy, and it doesn’t sit well with the guys.

The Hurt Locker is an intense, realistic war movie. It was helmed by Mark Boal, who was embedded with an explosive unit in Iraq for a period of time, and with Bigelow’s direction, they make one not only a viewer, but almost an active participant in the action. In that respect, it’s unrelenting and riveting. She used four cameras, surrounding the action from all angles, and very quick cuts. I swear, I think the longest scene is maybe 30 seconds. This is a technique used to keep the viewer "on edge," therefore creating a sense of constant tension.

My only issue with the script is that we never really get to know these characters. Sure, we’re watching them put their lives on the line every day, but why? What drew them to this unit? Why are they in the Army? And the question on everybody’s mind is: “Why the hell is James such a psycho, freak, dare devil?

These questions are never answered. In one scene in the third act, Sandborne and James are driving, and Sandborn does ask James, “Why do you do it, man? What makes you tick?” James looks at Sandborn with a blank expression and simply says, “I don’t know.” Th, th, th, that’s all folks, thanks for coming.We do learn that James is in a relationship at home (not a very healthy one), and that he has a little son. Total screen time: about two minutes. And Sandborn blurbs out that he's not "ready" for a relationship or a son, and then at the end of the movie, he blubbers about how badly he want's a son. Total screen time: maybe 30 seconds. In actuality, we've all seen these characters in movies before: James being the "crazy," damn the torpedoes guy, Sandborn is the rock-solid, play it by the book soldier, and Eldridge is the "scared" guy who doesn't quite know what to make of the whole situation.

Movies are about people, and human beings are very complex creatures. One only needs to reflect on one of the greatest war movies ever made, Platoon, to see a case study in character development. I mean we knew these guys. We felt their pain. We knew what made them tick. In “the business” they call it dimensions, specifically, “Is you character three dimensional?” I don’t know how many times I’ve heard a reader tell me my characters need more depth. And after I tell them to f**k off for the umpteenth time, I realize they’re right. Depth in character unconsciously drags you into the story, compelling YOU to want to take the ride with them to find out what the hell’s gonna happen to them.

So, I ask again, what is The Hurt Locker? I guess it’s an Academy Award winning war movie with a hell of a lot of action with a bunch of guys we know practically nothing about. And, honestly, we never really "find out" what a "hurt" locker is.

I give it four beers out of a six pack for Bigelow’s ability to mask the fact that she and Boal completely pulled one over on the Academy by masking stale characters with basically non-stop action.

Footnote: During the third act, a writer is supposed to tie-up all the lose ends and let the viewer/reader in on what happens to the "main" characters. Boal does this with James and Eldridge. BUT, Sandborn just literally disappears. He's in one of the last scenes, and then poof, he's gone with no explanation as to what happened to him. Did he die? Did he go home and have his son? Is he lost in the desert of Iraq? Is he on Dancing with the Stars? We simply don't know, and I guess Boal wanted it that way. I have never seen this done in a major motion picture.