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As far as meeting the requirements for a FILM, this definitely fails. There is no character development (which, normally should occur over the course of a long period of time), and the characters don't seem to make decisions that would really occur in these situations (with few exceptions). The only things it follows would be the explosions that people miraculously live through, and the limited sense of danger they all seem to be placed in in public. Overall, there was some added drama to make it faintly more interesting. There was no climax to the story, and the ending did not satisfy any major dilemma or leave the watcher with a sense of closure to the characters or their story. I understand that this is maybe where one would leave off hearing about a war group in real life, but then this movie should follow more of the writing characteristics of a documentary.
I don't get what's wrong with the fictional following of the lives of a number of soldiers in Iraq. I thought it was very entertaining and very exciting.
Moreover, it's original in its approach. No preaching like In The Valley of Elah or Lions for Lambs, no clichés and no blown-up, exhausting themes. It offers an intriguing look on the men in the demining force and their daily routines, where one wrong decision can have fatal consequences. You see, that is what you think it is. But after a while, I began to understand that I wasn't going to learn about the sense of camaraderie that lives among these men or the mental problems they face. No, it's the story of one man who is addicted to his job. Like it says at the beginning of the film: "war is a drug". To this guy, every demining job is like a replacement of an extreme sport in the sense that it offers the same adrenalin rush. Without it, he feels empty.
Now that sounds pretty darn original to me.
Also, no climax? What? The climax is that while others are happy as can be to get back home, this guy dreads the thought of having to shop for groceries like a "normal" man. He can't live without the war. That sounds like a climax to me.
To say that The Hurt Locker "fails" to meet the requirements of a film, is ridiculous. It's clear that you didn't like it, I'm not trying to change your mind here. But don't come up with this kind of stuff, man.
Have you seen Man On Wire? That's a documentary that is almost constructed as a classic caper movie. I sometimes forgot that I was watching a documentary; that's how much it sometimes felt like a real film. Does that mean that it isn't a documentary?
*head explodes*
