The Hurt Locker

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, & Brian Geraghty

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I have never really enjoyed war films. I am by no means a pacifist, but to me all the stories seem to be the same, and until now, I've been uninterested. It wasn't until viewing the Academy's best picture of 2010, The Hurt Locker, that I started to see things differently. In these films, it's not so much the story line that matters, but rather the characters that are featured in the film. The description of The Hurt Locker is just as bland as any other war picture, the story of a unit in Iraq that is responsible for disarming explosives. What makes this film so unique and made it the best film of 2010 was William James, played remarkably well by Jeremy Renner. Renner is known as an action star, so when I saw him nominated for best actor, I couldn't believe it. The truth is Renner's performance in this film was outstanding, because for once, he simply played himself. Renner may have been portraying a Sargent in Iraq, but the personality was his own. Director, Kathryn Bigelow, has become known for letting actors be themselves in developing their characters personalities, to the point where even some of the dialogue was in the spur of the moment. The Hurt Locker is a powerful film, with remarkable events and heartbreaking moments, but it's the films personality that is larger than life. I enjoyed every second of this film and it was truly the best choice the Academy could have made for best picture.