Chronicles of a Soldier – The Hurt Locker
Chronicles of a Soldier – The Hurt Locker
The IPL season didn’t encourage the release of a lot of good movies. It did enough to keep our attention distracted from movies too. Eventually Hyderabad did see the release of the Hurt Locker. The poster prominently displayed the following: Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Motion Picture of the year. The spectacle created by Kathryn Bigelow was long expected now and the movie finally donned the screens.
The Hurt Locker won 6 Oscars this year and it beat another sensation called Avatar hands down. Some questions were raised to ask if Cameron had made the better movie. But the lady did walk away with the honors. It would be safe to say that after watching the movie even I was asking the same questions. The Hurt Locker is a story set in the turbulent times of Iraq where a large contingent of the US Army is stationed. It is a collection of episodes from a Bomb diffusing squad’s life. The Bomb diffusing squad is a team of 3 who are alerted when an area is suspected to be under a bomb threat. The movie begins with the Team Leader dying in one such attempt to diffuse a bomb. A not so popular face in Jeremy Renner plays the role of the Team Lead the replaces the dead sergeant. He is one of those typical Rangers and has the reputation of being wild. His introduction scene features heavy metal playing in a closed room with him lying carelessly on the bed with a characteristic cigarette in his mouth. The movie is a collection of different episodes of dangerous bomb disposals done by the team of Renner, Anthony Mackie (Sergeant Sanborn) and Brian Geraghty (Specialist Owen Eldridge). Renner is shown as a dare devil who has an immense fascination for bombs. He looks at them as play things and has diffused 873 bombs in his life. He keeps a collection of bits of every bomb he has diffused. Mackie is a sergeant who despises his life in Iraq but he is a talented soldier. Eldridge is a coward and is always scared of tight situations. The plot is there for a team full of conflicting ideologies and an entertaining 90 minutes.
Of all the awards received, Best Original screenplay is the most apt one. The movie is shot in a terrific fashion. The use of the camera’s angles makes the audiences feel as if they are in that very street where the bomb is getting diffused. The background is made as close to reality as possible and the actors deliver a good performance. It is notable that some actors like Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes are used in 5 minute roles without interfering significantly with the movie. The background score keeps the audience tensed. Credit has to be given to Ottoson and Beckett.
What Michael Boal and Bigelow have done with the Hurt Locker is a wonderful narration of a soldier’s life. Bigelow is a talented painter. Her panache for colors is clearly visible in the movie. The scenes are rendered straight from an imagination which is built on memories based on actual scenes with actual colors. In the narration not a hair is out of place and subtle emotions are beautifully brought out. In one scene Mackie asks Renner how he takes the risk time after time. Renner replies saying he doesn’t think of it so much. A whole perspective is delivered in those small conversations.
The Hurt Locker is a wonderful movie but it does not have a story line. The ending is a weak attempt of showing that it has one. But the events in the movie do not seem to go in that direction. The movie pans out like extractions from the diary of a sergeant and the scenes seem unconnected without any flow. Overall this is a movie that portrays the life of a soldier as the life of a hero, a strong message in the context America is in. Better movies on war have been made but the Hurt Locker will always be a significant page in the history of Hollywood for the number of coveted black ladies it won. Recommendation to watch – An enjoyable one time watch but nothing to take away.
The IPL season didn’t encourage the release of a lot of good movies. It did enough to keep our attention distracted from movies too. Eventually Hyderabad did see the release of the Hurt Locker. The poster prominently displayed the following: Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Motion Picture of the year. The spectacle created by Kathryn Bigelow was long expected now and the movie finally donned the screens.
The Hurt Locker won 6 Oscars this year and it beat another sensation called Avatar hands down. Some questions were raised to ask if Cameron had made the better movie. But the lady did walk away with the honors. It would be safe to say that after watching the movie even I was asking the same questions. The Hurt Locker is a story set in the turbulent times of Iraq where a large contingent of the US Army is stationed. It is a collection of episodes from a Bomb diffusing squad’s life. The Bomb diffusing squad is a team of 3 who are alerted when an area is suspected to be under a bomb threat. The movie begins with the Team Leader dying in one such attempt to diffuse a bomb. A not so popular face in Jeremy Renner plays the role of the Team Lead the replaces the dead sergeant. He is one of those typical Rangers and has the reputation of being wild. His introduction scene features heavy metal playing in a closed room with him lying carelessly on the bed with a characteristic cigarette in his mouth. The movie is a collection of different episodes of dangerous bomb disposals done by the team of Renner, Anthony Mackie (Sergeant Sanborn) and Brian Geraghty (Specialist Owen Eldridge). Renner is shown as a dare devil who has an immense fascination for bombs. He looks at them as play things and has diffused 873 bombs in his life. He keeps a collection of bits of every bomb he has diffused. Mackie is a sergeant who despises his life in Iraq but he is a talented soldier. Eldridge is a coward and is always scared of tight situations. The plot is there for a team full of conflicting ideologies and an entertaining 90 minutes.
Of all the awards received, Best Original screenplay is the most apt one. The movie is shot in a terrific fashion. The use of the camera’s angles makes the audiences feel as if they are in that very street where the bomb is getting diffused. The background is made as close to reality as possible and the actors deliver a good performance. It is notable that some actors like Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes are used in 5 minute roles without interfering significantly with the movie. The background score keeps the audience tensed. Credit has to be given to Ottoson and Beckett.
What Michael Boal and Bigelow have done with the Hurt Locker is a wonderful narration of a soldier’s life. Bigelow is a talented painter. Her panache for colors is clearly visible in the movie. The scenes are rendered straight from an imagination which is built on memories based on actual scenes with actual colors. In the narration not a hair is out of place and subtle emotions are beautifully brought out. In one scene Mackie asks Renner how he takes the risk time after time. Renner replies saying he doesn’t think of it so much. A whole perspective is delivered in those small conversations.
The Hurt Locker is a wonderful movie but it does not have a story line. The ending is a weak attempt of showing that it has one. But the events in the movie do not seem to go in that direction. The movie pans out like extractions from the diary of a sergeant and the scenes seem unconnected without any flow. Overall this is a movie that portrays the life of a soldier as the life of a hero, a strong message in the context America is in. Better movies on war have been made but the Hurt Locker will always be a significant page in the history of Hollywood for the number of coveted black ladies it won. Recommendation to watch – An enjoyable one time watch but nothing to take away.
Nicely written man!!
ReplyDeleteI guess the last paragraph just explains why HL won the Oscars for the best movie and not Avatar, isn't it? Avatar shows US in a negative way wherein US hunts for minerals even in other planets. Whereas in HL, America is shown as a savior and War is shown as an addiction...something which all Americans should look upto.
Keep up the good work man!!