The Hurt Locker

EdieEmm

Watched only for the #52FilmsByWomen challenge by womeninfilm.org. (Albright would be so happy: I'm supporting women AND consuming messaging around US exceptionalism!) The absurd farce - the obscenity - of 'combat without context'; the conceit of using Iraqis as props; the fallacy of 'neutrally' portraying an imperialist war; all in a film so full of cliches that I kept thinking I'd already seen it. Boring and gross.

Nadin

I missed the depth. It plays on the macho / hero theme just like any other war film, except that it wasn't a normal soldier we follow this time. The interesting, and gripping, part - namely their mental breakdown into PTSD - comes too late to give the film a special angle. The one thing I liked about the whole film was the ending.

Christopher R. Smith

Overrated and uneven, but still one of the better American war movies of recent years. Worth watching for a number of superbly-crafted suspense sequences, really some fine filmmaking, but it doesn't quite hold up as a whole. The loose plot especially looses its way in a credibility-stretching second half. Strong performances and an effective tense atmosphere, but a disappointment considering the accolades it got.

PolarisDiB

A horror movie with a very interesting twist: in typical horror, when the face of the monster is revealed, the fear disappates and the resolution begins. Here, the recognition of the monster is met with increased paranoia and anxiety as the soldiers gradually acclimatize to the fact that the enemies are walking right up to them and shaking their hands. --DiB

toeachiscinema

Classic Oscar winner. The right place at the right time. This year its the combination of the controversial Iraq war and female director... Technically well executed movie with a weak and forced screenplay. Nothing more really

Natasha Subramaniam

This film is seriously over-rated. Yes, it's gripping and suspenseful and I personally like that it's made by a female director who can formally outdo most other action movie counterparts.... but Bigelow's portrayal of Iraqi civilians is as bad as the Fox 11 news... they are reduced to being bumbling foreigners, most of the time blurred in the distance. Had she given them more of a voice--the film would have worked

Daniela

God that shaky cam crap annoyed me in the first half of this film. But overall it's worth a watch and actually had a really interesting EDing (I was wondering how the quote would tie in . . . )

film_lies101

A bunch of random sequences that ending being anticlimactic (perhaps a metaphor for war itself). The performances were decent, though Pearce & Fiennes showed the most charisma (they weren't onscreen for that long). There is an immediacy to way the film was shot, but it feels wasted in the end...really disappointed by this