It is an incredible understatement to simply say that war is bad. I understand that if you want your film to have any level of honesty and realism it essentially becomes an anti-war film. A "pro-war film" would either be completely ridiculous or a cartoon (maybe that's redundant). The Hurt Locker succeeds by showing all the horrors of war, while not taking the easy way out and becoming a soap box. Don't misunderstand me, I walked away hoping we never have to send our young men into harms way again, but this film strikes without ideology.
Kathryn Bigelow is a director to watch. It is strange that still today I find myself surprised that this was directed by a woman. How may great action films can you name that were directed by a woman? I promise you it's not because there aren't women out there who are far more capable than many action directors working today (I'm looking at you, Uwe Boll).
While 2005's Jarhead effectively illustrated the "hurry up and wait" army, The Hurt Locker shows exactly how demanding it is once all the waiting is over. We follow the lives of a small group of soldiers assigned with the task of investigating and disarming roadside bombs. We are thrown into battle with them before the theater lights have had a chance to completely dim. The original Star Wars is credited for it's brilliant fast pacing. This film moves even faster while losing none of it's effectiveness. The cuts between wartime and off time are as jarring as they must really be. You don't have time to realize you are watching a thinking-mans war film, until long after the smoke has cleared. This is the best Iraq war we are likely to get.
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