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The Hurt Locker


THE HURT LOCKER

Kathryn Bigelow has proven herself to be one of the greatest action movie directors since her ex-husband James Cameron, and The Hurt Locker is the greatest example of this. This film shows true talented directing, and it even got Bigelow an Academy Award, the first Best Director Oscar to ever be given to a female director. If you are not already convinced that she is one of the finest directors working today, watch either Zero Dark Thirty or Point Break and your mind will be changed.

The Hurt Locker is about Sergeant William James, a rouge veteran who becomes the new leader of a EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) unit during the Iraq war. The film follows him, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge as they try to stay alive until their rotation. The highlights of this film are the various bomb defusal scenes throughout the film. I appreciated the choice to not use music during these important scenes. Some people would make the mistake of thinking that adding music would add to the suspense, but most of the time it is exactly the opposite. By choosing to not use music at crucial action moments during the film made them even more intense and dramatic.

This movie shines much more on a technical level than anything else. The editing, sound design, directing, and cinematography were all some of the best I have seen from a more recent film. The slow motion was especially used very well in the film, much better than any current day action movies. The characters weren't anything too special, but the good performances allowed the audience to feel emotions towards them, and you never know whether or not any character could die in any given scene.

Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker is on of the greatest action movie to come out in the past ten years, and great directing, sound, and editing was what brought it to life. This was one of the Hollywood action movies that strays away from the typical tropes and clichés, and the effort definitely shows in the final product.