tms1994's blog

The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is about a group of three men disposing of bombs in Iraq. At the start of the movie the group of three consisted of men that were very familiar with each other, they trusted and cared for each others lives. Staff Sergeant Matthew Thompson is killed however by an explosive leaving the team down a man. That is when Sergeant Matthew James, an adrenaline junkie, takes the place of Thompson and assumes the duties of diffusing the bombs, James is considered reckless by his team, putting him and his teams lives in danger in almost every mission they go on. His team contemplates killing him by setting off a bomb “accidentally” so they are no longer put in unnecessary danger. They decide against it however as the team continues to execute under pressure, and although James’ tactics are dangerous and unorthodox, he is good at what he does. He lives for the the rush diffusing a bomb brings him. The bomb squad finishes out there rotation and eventually is sent home. Sergeant James gets home to his wife and son and can not stand the boring every day life back home, he realizes he only loves one thing, being at war.

The Hurt Locker, arguably one of the greatest war movies ever made, is praised for its lack of political interactions in the movie, which i love. The director, Kathryn Bigelow, uses many unorthodox approaches in directing a war movie, especially an Iraq movie which usually are filled with political viewpoints of the director throughout the movie. By using this style, I think Kathryn Bigelow is trying to portray the everyday life style and struggle of an American soldier, and in the case a bomb diffusing team. By using the politic free view, Bigelow wants you to see war through the soldiers eyes and their eyes only. Bigelow wants to portray the craft of these soldiers and how the years of training come into use. She also wants to give us a greater appreciation for what our soldiers do everyday for us, and our freedom.

Director Kathryn Bigelow also shows how war changes men down to their core. “War is a drug” she says, She uses Sergeant Matthew James as the prime example when he is sent home from his mission, he admits to his infant son that he only knows for a fact he loves one thing. The one thing sadly is war, diffusing bombs to be exact, and James is soon sent off on another mission which makes him happier than he could ever be at home. She shows this part of the war to illustrate that war changes people, when you are trained for one thing for many years, you lose any will to do anything different than be in the heat of the battle. It almost seems James would not mind dying in battle, which is why he is so reckless. This shows the people that do not think about what war does to soldiers when they get back.

I think The Hurt Locker by Kathryn Bigelow was made artistically express an American bomb diffusing squad without the intruding views of the government or opposing forces, the movie tries to clearly illustrate life through the soldiers eyes. Also it shows the post war stress that is inevitable with the things the soldiers have seen, and why some soldiers have such a hard time re assimilating back into American culture after going to battle for our freedom. I think The Hurt Locker does a great job of bringing the real war to uneducated Americans, it skips what makes the news and it does not talk about the governments involvement of the war which is unlike any Iraq war movie made so far. I recommend this movie to anyone who has not seen it!