Do not see this movie. Please.
The trailer will have you believe this movie is worth watching. Time, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone will also have you believe this movie is worth watching. But listen to the voice of reason (i.e.: me), and avoid this at all costs. It runs a little over two hours, but it felt twice as long, and will certainly ruin your evening with the potential of giving you a headache. Basically, if you decide to see The Hurt Locker, after reading this review, then you deserve to waste your money.
The Hurt Locker Movie Poster
The film follows a three-man bomb squad in the Iraqi war (circa 2004), with several scenes of how the unit disarms various bombs. Or, if you want to look at it another way: it’s basically a video game that you have no control over. Staff Sergeant William James (played by Jeremy Renner) is the wild renegade in charge of this unit, who doesn’t like to play by the rules; they make it painfully obvious that he gets a rush out of disarming bombs. Sergeant JT Sanborn (played by Anthony Mackie) is sick of duty, and does his best to stay alive so he can get back home, while Specialist Owen Eldridge (played by Brian Geraghty) is a giant pussy that should have never been a soldier.
Even though these three are the main characters, we learn virtually nothing about them, and there are only two scenes of “bonding” between the three soldiers, who we are supposed to feel for. Aside from the scenes that are inconsequential tangents which the Staff Sergeant creates, the bomb scenes were genuinely cool and suspenseful. But even those started wearing on me, since it was just more of the same, with slightly different variables. You never really get a handle on what drives the Staff Sergeant to do what he does, or to think what he thinks, which creates a giant bubble of confusion as the story progresses.
Explosion Scene from The Hurt Locker
I had no qualms with the acting, and the sets / visuals were very realistic; imagine Jarhead, but not entertaining. There were points where I felt like I was being tortured for continuing to watch – a really long sniper scene, and a sub-plot between the Staff Sergeant and an Iraqi boy. The whole theme was to explain that some soldiers (the Staff Sergeant) are driven to war for the adrenaline rush, and to avoid the mundane; even though the theme was conveyed, it didn’t keep you interested. Oh, and if you think “hey, it can’t be that bad with Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes” then you are in for a bad surprise, since they were each in the film for a total one scene each.
Really, I’d love to say something positive, but I just can’t. The story was as flat from beginning to end; you’d have more fun off pulling out your pubic hair, one by one. Please watch something else.
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July 24th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
It was a fabulous movie. Very intense with lots of suspense.
The sniper scene shows the patience and training that the soldiers have gone through. It was meant to be long to convey how much longer it would have been for them.
And I don’t agree that the point was that he was an adrenaline junkie. He was called that by others but noone understood him. The story he told his wife about the kids and the candy is what drives him to return to tour. The fact he’s nutty when disarming things is just the fact he’s seasoned and professional. The adren rush is the side effect.
As for Eldridge, he lost it when he didn’t kill the guy with the cellphone. Hence the doc entered the pic.
Your review gives the impression that you can’t gain insight into characters without it spelled out to you.
August 4th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Could not agree more. The movie was a shining example of missed opportunities. A better script would have made this the sleeper movie of 2009.
August 5th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
This movie is intended to show the viewers what it’s like for an EOD team. It’s worth watching.
This is a good example of modern combat over in Iraq, and what soldiers have to deal with.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Absolutely agreed. This movie was a train-wreck of nonsense, a disaster of a narrative, a confusing and stupid and explanation-free whirlwind of scary explosions and implausible firefights.
I find it absolutely mesmerizing to watch the critics fawn over this debacle with almost *universal* acclaim, when even a high-school film afficionado could easily see how horribly it sucks.
Your review does a great job of explaining some of what makes The Hurt Locker so despicable.
August 11th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
This movie was terrible, there was no character building, the situations were way over the top, and if just felt like i was watching a terrible john wayne style movie. No thats not what eod does over there, and not this doesnt show what its like, this is movie is a slap in the face for any combat vetern
August 29th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
FUCK YOU
September 8th, 2009 at 7:31 am
If you like intense movies, watch this. I dont understand why there are so many negative views on this. It was awsome, the “long drawn out” sniper scene was realistic and good, even the point where he handed him a Capri Sun and he didnt drink any of it… was pritty intense and cool. 10/10 for this movie
September 11th, 2009 at 10:47 pm
I liked it and it seems many others do as well. I know some folks out there didnt like it, guess you wont know unless you see it for yourself. Read the reviews on yahoo, good mix of reviews for this film.
If you’re looking for Hollywood, dont look here, this movie feels gritty and real, down and dirty. Yes, the camera shakes a bit but I didnt notice it until others mentioned it in reviews. Also, you may have to dig deep for a story, the clues are there and allow you to draw your own meaning from the film.
I am NOT a fan of big budget Hollywood films that spend all their time blowing things up and not telling a story. I need something to move the mental juices a bit and this film got me thinking, feeling and enjoying the action.
sorry redmanthatdidnt
October 26th, 2009 at 12:50 am
This film is great. One of the best films i’ve seen in a long time. If you need character background and relationships to be spelt out for you perhaps you would be more comfortable watching a film like transformers where the protaganists can’t die and american’s never miss. This is a gritty movie, it feels very real and it has a deeper social perspective rather than just that of the adrenaline soldier’s get from war. It’s really not just about soldier’s but about individuals in society and what they classify as important. It asks the question whats most important answer and you can’t just give the bs answer of “love or happiness” because often thats not true.
November 1st, 2009 at 11:36 am
This movie was utter crap and was nothing like an actual EOD unit. I’ve been to Iraq as EOD and not once did we go any where without escorts. If the main character would have done those things in real lifethat he did I’m the movie he would have been kicked out and never let back into an EOD unit! The EOD comunity finaly gets a movie made and it’s a piece of garbage. Robo cop was more realistic then this steaming pile of crap.
December 17th, 2009 at 7:57 am
To all of you who are degrading this movie because you didn’t see any character building etc, then it just shows how shallow you are. This is a very complex film, and everything was there for you to learn about the characters, but you must of just missed every clue given. Eldridge a pussy? Ok, point proven. You are obviously not capable of comprehending the plot. Eldridge was not a pussy. The scene with the doc SHOULD have clued you in… “He’s dead *click* now he’s alive”….remember?
January 2nd, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Couldn’t have agreed more bro. Can’t believe I watched the entire thing. Plain, silly and arrogant movie.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
The scene in the beginning, where the EOD goes off and the helmet suit guy is flying in the air, i slow motion, is FUCKIN PATHETIC!!! That scene reminds me of “Lethal Weapon” the padody movie when guys fly thru the glass:
t=0:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmtkV50jt94
Isn’t there blood inside the helmet too?
It’s so american and fucked up and unrealistic i shut the thing of after that scene. Embarrassing.
January 13th, 2010 at 7:50 am
Swedish Browny, the only thing that is fucking pathetic is your ability to spell or write a coherent sentence. Since it’s obvious you have no clue what the effects of a high explosive going off are I’ll clue you in. First off it was an IED that went off. An EOD is the actual soldier, moron. And in that scene he was killed by the shockwave. At that distance the shockwave is stong enough to rupture organs, which it did. You shouldn’t really complain about realism when have no clue what the effects of a real high explosive going off are.
January 15th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
This movie was a herky jerky oh lets throw in this scene where they bond a bit… oh time to toss this scene in.. quick need more suspense. and the end was just pathetic.
The only reason this movie received so many positive reviews in the media is because it suposedly brings the war home for people to see bah.
Friends son was in Iraq his only comment it was boring and he looked foreward to the mortar attacks because at least something was going on. Granted he was not in this unit and should count himself lucky to be back home and healthy.
He also said they had disposable guards from other countries in the guard posts and if there was anything going on they would just cower. but that is second hand..
January 16th, 2010 at 12:27 am
EOD going out with no escort? EOD sniping? Up armored vehicles in 04, no com with adjacent units, ACOGs with no reticules, I can go on and on…..Sad… they didn’t even take the time to do the basic research…. this movie is not an accurate. Although some of the settings brought a chill to my neck. To all you faggots that think this was a good film, go pick up a rifle and earn my respect….
val
January 17th, 2010 at 9:14 pm
Best movie of 09? WTF? Were they on crack when they made that decision? That movie flat out sucks. Hardly any action in it and some scenes are just too long and unimportant. I mean sure it’s probably very realistic when you compare it to the actual war but couldn’t they have spiced it up a lil bit? Even a REAL documentary would entertain you more than this movie. And the sniper scene… wow. “Hey guys, instead of adding some action on this movie, let’s make them sit in the middle of a desert stare at a dead guy for an hour!!” “Oh gee, that sounds like a great idea!!”. Pathetic. You’re better off watching Moon (pretty underated movie IMO) than this garbage…
January 21st, 2010 at 11:57 am
your a fuckin retard the hurt locker was a god movie
January 21st, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Rotten tomatoes gave it a 97%. If you don’t like this movie, then its because you aren’t intelligent enough to understand it. Go watch daybreakers.
January 22nd, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Anyone who has spent ANY time in the Army would know that this movie is full of inaccuracies. 3 EOD guys driving around the Iraqi desert in a lone humvee? Really? 3 EOD guys chasing bad guys through the alleys of Bagdad with no coms and flashlights? Are you serious? Then, they split up? WTF? Where were their superiors? No platoon sgt? No Lt.? It mad NO sense whatsoever. Tell me how a guy who can’t hit a big ass open window with a .50 can suddenly kill a runner with a head shot at 850 meters? Does that sound plausible to anyone who knows anything at all about shooting?
Did you catch the part where the Eldridge called James “sir”, twice in the same sentence? You don’t refer to an E-6 as sir. EVERYONE knows that. WORST MILITARY MOVIE EVER.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:25 am
The retard locker is a piece of unrealistic garbage, The sniper scene where the sniper hangs half way out the window, what. I could go on and on. If you liked this movie please get back in touch with reality sometime soon cause your a fucking idiot. oh yeah if you wanna disarm a howitzer round cut the wire that’s it. I bet if you liked this you like paranormal state also. oh drama.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:57 pm
i don’t know what movie you where watching but missed the whole point of the movie. your just to dumb to understand. go watch twilight or some as stupid like your self in the mirror
January 24th, 2010 at 7:35 am
You people all belong on a short bus… I can’t believe I am reading such put-downs for this amazing movie.
Go hop on the Christopher Nolan bandwagon, and never come back!
January 24th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Hurt Locker is not a bad movie but hailing it as a movie of the year makes me wonder who the influential film buffs really are – maybe watching too many movies does something bad to ones brain
The film is good for disarming scenes, great filming and editing, and maybe striving for real-life war experience in iraq (pity it seems to be far from the truth though).
What I don’t like about the movie is that it pretends to be deep. It’s tryin to tricks us into thinking about character’s motivations but in fact it doesn’t event hint anything interesting or deep about the squad guys and their interactions. war is a drug – yes this is obvious truth, maybe this is so striking for the female director. However I think she should start maybe from hemingway before having any pretences for ‘deeper’ insights on that subject.
Second obvious problem with that movie is that it doesn’t really go anywhere. A plot? forget it. Any breakthrougs? no not this time sorry. Sure some people find big brother fascinating and maybe they become fascinated by this movie on similar terms. losely composed shots of the same and more of the same without any real story.
Summing up – it has every trait of good B-class movie: flat characters, no story, lots of explosions. The difference is this film pretends (successfuly as rotten tomatoe reviews show) to be something else
January 24th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Hilarious how all the negative comments are from people who can’t even put together a coherent sentence, while the positive reviews are from people who know how to talk. The plot to Hurt Locker is deep; you have to put some intelligent thought into it, unlike the typical big-budget Hollywood film who’s plot is composed of explosions and more explosions.
January 24th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I agree with you 100% on this man. I was completely lost during the movie and felt extremely empty inside as the movie progressed. Noting in the movie really connected and was a real killer for me. If i really wanted to know what the life of a EOD really was, then i would of watched a documentary on this matter. I really actually hoped the ending would convey some take home messages like most award winning movies, but the ending gave me a bag load of mixed emotions.
I was looking forward to this movie too. The movie might be great for some, but for me, it didn’t meet my requirements what so ever.
the first 20min were kinda cool tho.
January 25th, 2010 at 5:05 am
Hey Future soldier, I’m sure my command of English is far from perfect simply because it is not my native tongue. Think about it next time before posting hilarious theories that only tell us more about your ability to put intelligent thought into antyhing.
To be honest I’d like to be enligtened by somebody on where is the depth in this movie. Maybe I’m missing something.
One day the guy plays silly lone ranger putting mens lives at stake with a smoke granade and the other he’s perfect team buddy and then againg john rambo wakes up and goes into baghdad to seek revege for the dvd-kid. uuuups mission failed: beaten by housewife. i mean whats deep about being stupid incoherent chaotic prick that never learns anything. whats the message? be good or be bad or whatever – nobody cares – just try to be deep by mumbling incoherently and acting like maniac. And remeber never change yourself as evolution of character is passe. plot is passe as well. be deep – say nothing
January 25th, 2010 at 8:09 am
I won’t say the movie was total crap. I will say I was totally disappointed by it though. They marketed it as gritty and realistic. They were way off the mark with the realism. Someone already mentioned the ‘head shot on a running target at 850 yards’. And what about the ‘taxi vs EOD guy’ scene,? It was obvious the director decided this is going to be a war movie without any blood or death (almost). If that had happened in Iraq, the soldiers that the cab plowed through would have been fighting over who shot the driver first. But I guess that would have ruined the ‘John Wayne stand-off scene’.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I just finally rented and watched this movie tonight. Btw, James’ character is actually a Sergeant First Class (two bottom bars on his rank – Staff Sergeant is one bar). Anyway, I had no desire to watch this until noticing all the hype with awards seasons in play and seeing the RT meter so high. I tend to like most movies more than those ratings, or at least equal to. In this case it’s way off for me. A 97% fresh for this? No way
I’m an emotional movie viewer. I put myself into them and usually come out with varying feelings that a lot of people seem to not experience. As the credits rolled on this one I realized that I had very little to zero attachment to the film nor it’s characters whatsoever. Movies earning best picture or even having a really good shot at it should leave the viewers wanting more. This one didn’t do that at all.
Were the defusing and sniper scenes suppose to carry the film’s excitement and tension? I’ve seen bomb squad documentaries that carried more weight. The stress of war on soldiers and character emotion was too slight and too light to really care what happens. Yes, you can formulate your own thoughts of what they’re feeling and thinking, but does creating half the movie in your head make it great?
While replaying all of the events in the film I can’t figure out what it is that makes so many think this is a “10.” Is it because it takes place during the Iraq War and people feel an attachment or obligation to like it because they have family or friends that are or have served in it? Do people think that it’s actually THAT realistic, and if so, is that what makes them like it? Are they the same people that think Dancing With the Stars should win a television best drama award?? There’s NO way The Hurt Locker should win best picture at any awards presentation. Look at it this way, Saving Private Ryan did not win and was far more entertaining and emotional than this.
So far wherever I’ve seen from defenders of the film it’s the same old swearing bashes and claims that “it’s deep” without any further reasoning. There’s nothing deep about it for even mildly intelligent viewers.
January 31st, 2010 at 7:45 pm
The worst movie i have ever seen in a cinema, and I have seen a few crappy movies in cinema. I cant understand the critics in their review, they must have all been blackmailed or something.
Hurt Locker = Boring Time
February 1st, 2010 at 7:24 pm
How anyone could view this film as a ‘good’ film is beyond me! I can’t believe that Guy Pierce and Ralph Fiennes even signed on for this one, considering that they were in the film for about 2 minutes each before being killed.
It was a train wreck from beginning to end. I’ll never trust an IMDB review/rating again after seeing that this one had an 8.0/10.0 rating. I’ve always found IMDB ratings to be a fairly accurate measure of how good a movie is or not. Usually, 6.5 and higher rated films are ok to watch. This one definitely deserves a 2.0 or lower.
February 2nd, 2010 at 12:18 am
This movie was insulting to the the EOD soldiers i served with (easily one of the most valuable assets in any combat operation). I was there for the invasion when it was the wild west and again with the surge. Granted, it was a completely different war by 2006 but I can not find any way to relate to this movie. Its like someone overheard several drunken privates telling war stories and tried to mash them together to make a movie
February 2nd, 2010 at 7:31 am
As an OIF veteran having worked alongside EOD countless times, I found this movie to be completely ridiculous. EOD techs don’t walk up to IED’s with bomb suits and cut wires. First of all, it takes hours for the EOD guy to actually get to the suspected IED. Second, it takes hours for the EOD guys to get their little robot ready to go up to the IED. Then finally, hours later after the guys who find the IED have called EOD, it is blown in place. Hardly exciting I know, but it pisses me off that Hollywood makes heroes out of these guys when the real heroes are the guys on patrol every day finding these things, sometimes getting fragged in the process. EOD doesn’t roll around Iraq in a humvee by themselves without 2 or 3 truck escorts. Soldiers don’t leave a cal .50 mounted humvee unoccupied in the streets of Iraq. RANGERS AREN’T FREAKIN’ EOD TECHS. EOD TECHS DON’T KNOW HOW TO OPERATE A BARRETT, MUCH LESS DRILL A GUY IN THE HEAD WHILE RUNNING FROM A THOUSAND METERS. BUCK SERGEANTS DON’T PUNCH A SERGEANT FIRST CLASS IN THE FACE AND STAY AROUND TO TELL THE STORY! I’m sorry, but this movie was the absolute worst war movie I’ve seen in recent memory and is a slap in the face to every combat arms soldier in the U.S. Army.
February 2nd, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I am truely shocked that this movie got good reviews and now nominated for anything other than “most disapointing”. I foolishly trusted the reviews….total disbelief how anyone could manage to endure watching this boring, plotless waist of time, it really brought NOTHING new or interesting to the table.
I want my dvd rental money back! BOOOOOOOOOO!
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:24 am
I couldn’t agree more: this movie was horrible. What a waste of time…I actually forgot what movie we were watching 50 minutes into it because 1) its hard to really pay attention to a plotless piece of crap with a lot of words and explosions and 2) it goes off in random tangents that don’t really mean anything.
How can anyone say the sniper scene was realistic??! *SPOILERS* The American took up the gun exactly where the British guy was snipped and STAYED IN THE SAME SPOT. The sniper for the Arabs only had to make the exact same shot that he had to kill the British guy, yet the American sits in the same position for hours.
That is just one of the many plot holes in this movie. How is it up for so many awards?
February 3rd, 2010 at 9:45 pm
^^Amen If you liked this move I bet you love the WWE.
February 4th, 2010 at 12:41 am
This really makes me feel a bit better. See, I feel like I am kind of a film buff. I have seen tons and tons of movies, read books on various aspects of film making, etc. I do that because I love the art of film. As a result, I feel like I kinda know enough about film to accurately judge a good one from a bad one. Which brings me to The Hurt Locker. Its been messing with my head since I saw it, like “Am I really stupid? Every critic on Earth thinks its a great movie, so what’s wrong with me?!?”
Having heard a positive recommendation from a friend, I checked out the reviews. “Oh shit! This movie won a bunch of awards and got nominated for tons more, plus the Tomatometer’s at 97%. This is gonna be good!” I watched it with some friends, and none of use really had any idea what it was gonna be about, aside from “Some bomb squad guys in Iraq or something.” I think its best to go into a movie fresh, with no preconceptions or shots from the trailer in your mind, so it can just unfold for you.
Our experience was less than great… We have a system where if you get tired of a movie and want out, you just stick your arm out, thumbs down. If the majority of the audience throws a thumbs down, we stop the movie. Both of my friends thumbed down by the 1 hour mark. I was like “C’mon you guys, lets give it a chance. This movie is extremely critically acclaimed. Maybe it’ll get good all of a sudden…” It never did. Towards the end we actually started hoping the main character would just get killed already.
The central problem with this movie is that, while its a well shot, directed, and acted film, it basically has no story. We have these three guys we know nothing about who act the same way throughout the film. They don’t grow or change. There is no real antagonist for them to work against, and the main action of the film is just them going from one meaningless and unimportant bomb to another.
Overall there is no real reason for the audience to identify with or care about any of these characters. There is a lot of action, but without a bigger picture to play out against, none of it advances the story or means anything, and as a result you really don’t have any emotional involvement. As a result, after the initial impact of the opening few action scenes wears off, the movie becomes really boring.
Storytelling fail!
February 4th, 2010 at 6:09 am
Totally agree… I’ll curse the day I entered Blockbuster to rent this POS movie. Worse crap I’ve seen in years. No plot, no depth, no nothing. Just a bunch of scenes thrown together. Wish I had spent those 2 hours sleeping, or fucking my wife, or my neighbor, or whatever… The critics must get some really good cash to write good reviews about shit like this…
February 4th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I totally agree with Redmanthatcould and others who thought this movie wasn’t all that. I decided to watch this movie after Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 97% rating. I don’t remember the last time I saw a movie with such a high rating. Anyways, I admit, I’m not a fan of war movies but I’ve seen some good ones so I thought this might be worth it. Plus, just read an article that James Cameron thought his ex-wife should win the Oscar. He thought this was the best movie of the year. And of course it’s tied with Avatar for 9 Oscar nominations. With all this going for the movie, I decided to order the movie through On-demand from my cable company.
Then came the disappointment. In a nutshell, as others have put it, this movie tried to be cool, tried to be serious, tried to be real but it just wasn’t. The only suspense was when the guy was trying to disarm the bombs. Then after a while, you realize the guy is the main character and he wasn’t going to die anytime soon. After that, it stopped being suspenseful for me. I was hoping for a good story but there wasn’t one. I think even if I never knew this was “supposed” to be a good movie, I still would have thought this movie wasn’t all that. After seing all the critics say how great this movie was made this movie even worse.
Anyways, I’m done venting. I’m glad I found this site. I don’t feel like I’m the only one who thinks this way.
Thank you.
February 5th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Being a veteran of the Middle East, watching this movie made me feel like the film makers were mocking military personal. I found myself thinking if this is how people portray soldiers in Iraq then us soldiers aren’t looking too good. Hopefully people who have no association with the Army won’t see us like this movie makes us out to be.
First off this movie is highly inaccurate… The “ACU” type uniforms they are wearing wasn’t introduced until late 2005. (The movie takes place in 2004). Second… At no point can a “renegade” EOD soldier just don a hoodie and walk outside the wire in Iraq! Sorry, but no service member will tell you risking ones own life to find a 12 year old Iraqi boy is worth it! Tasteless movie making at it’s best.
Also the average soldier can’t pick up a sniper rifle and know what to do. Sniper school is 5 weeks of hell. A lot of patience and math are involved. No way in hell a non-sniper trained soldier can pick up a sniper rifle and be accurate with it. Not to mention… not wearing hearing protection while operating a sniper rifle will for sure cause some hardcore hearing damage. Instantly.
What’s with the scene where he stops the car with a side arm? That shit is a joke. While all the other soldiers just stand around and watch? Reality check… If a speeding car is hauling ass towards you in a hostile county, your gonna put some rounds thru that windshield. Sound harsh? Well then put yourself in harms way and see how you react!
Drinking? There is no drinking in theatre. Now, does some sneaky shit go down? Of course. But openly getting hammered in Iraq doesn’t. That is what we call in the military a “court marshall” and your getting shipped to the states and going directly to Fort Leavenworth (prison).
The passion the main character has for defusing bombs is flat out stupid. The film makers say they followed a EOD team in 2004? Well if they really did they would know that after only a few minutes and one failed attempt to defuse a bomb, they do what’s called a “controlled explosion”. Most times it’s easier to control a IED explosion rather than defuse it. Also too EOD teams defuse bombs that are putting soldiers in danger. In the movie it felt like they had a bat-phone that they would get calls on about another random IED. Nope, sorry shit heads, EOD soldiers just don’t walk around Baghdad defusing random bombs. And they sure as hell don’t do it with out an ass load of security from combat soldiers!!
As far as the other side of this shitty movie. The story line, acting, ect… I agree with almost everyone else who said it was crap. A lot of people were paid big bucks to say this movie was good. They must be retarded. From a soldier side, this movie sucks shit. From a movie buff/artist side, this movie sucks shit.
If you want to see a good war related movie. Rent Taking Chance. Great movie.
PS. I’ve been a US Army soldier for 9 years now. I’ve been to 5 special skill schools to include SERE training. If it sucks I’ve been thru it!
February 7th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
The problem with this movie was that it went full retard. Never go full retard.
Bullshit american war propaganda. A macho guy, a gun and a flag. Whoot break out the oscars! America’s got a wounded ego!! waaaa
Pathetic character development and first person shooter style cinematography? Yeah, even COD has better character development. And the portrayal of the Iraqi people those psychopaths in the movie were killing was borderline racist.
Garbage.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I’m an Iraq veteran. This movie is a joke, especially among Iraq veterans, and ESPECIALLY among EOD. If you are looking for accuracy, look somewhere else. That sniper scene? Yea…not happening. Many people on here are saying “it just shows their dedication and training and focus”…the fact of the matter is, in reality, no EOD team is going to be driving around in a desert by themselves, run into a british special forces unit, survive a sniper attack, and then automatically transorm into some kind of sniper team, while the british SF guys just sit there. And no soldier is going to sneak off the FOB to go “investigate” something, and then return back to base without getting his rank stripped and court martialed. Just a small taste of how rediculous this movie is. Pretty much, if you have never been there, then you have no place to judge how accurate it is or isn’t. Besides the inaccuracies, it’s just a poorly put together movie. Cheezy dialouge is frequent, the action scenes are mediocre, and it goes over the top in so many ways. If you dont care about plot, and dont care about accuracy, but just want to see some slow motion explosions, then go forward and watch this garbage. If you are in the military, you will just simply laugh at it.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
The most over-rated movie of 2009!! BY FAR!
February 9th, 2010 at 4:30 am
This movie was awful. The very first scene was so full of inaccuracies that it took me out of the rest of the movie. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t inject just a little bit of reality. Instead, they made it seem like the EOD units are made up of a bunch of roving idiots who take unnecessary risks for the purpose of challenging their own manhood. It just doesn’t happen that way. This movie was a piece of crap and shouldn’t get one award. I’m afraid the accolades for this turd are going to lead to a bunch of unrealistic combat movies.
February 13th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
The only thing I can figure is that this movie is a politically motivated work to paint the Iraqi War in a negative light. Not exactly hard to do.
My wife put it best: It’s like it’s a documentary. Except fiction. And shot like a real movie. Oh, and with no point. So not really even as good as a documentary.
February 15th, 2010 at 7:58 am
this movie sucked it was like a documentary crossed with a reality show it had no beginning and no endine i couldnt wait for it to end
February 19th, 2010 at 8:38 am
THIS MOVIE FUCKING SUCKED. NEVER WATCH THIS STUPID SHIT. HOW IT WON AWARDS/WAS NOMINATED IS BEYOND MOVIE, WATCHING THIS WAS A WASTED OF FUCKING TIME. THIS MOVIE BLOWS.
February 20th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
This movie was horrible and not realistic at all. I am a Marine and I was in Iraq in 2004. This movie was not accurate with in any way shape or form tactically or in any way we worked in Iraq. I worked with both Army and Marine Corps EOD and this is movie is a joke.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:06 am
I am veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan. This movie is a horrible depiction of soldier’s in combat. From the equipment to the stupid and unrealistic scenarios it was simply horrible. I use to think Blackhawk Down was a little over the top (personally know some of the people who were there) but Ridley Scott at least did an awesome job of depicting the military and their mission, the cheesy hollywood drama was unavoidable. However, this crappy movie does neither and is horrible from beginning to end. Hollywood must be trying to present itself as less leftist than they truly (and dangerously) are by giving this film the credit it DOES NOT deserve. Sad what are world has become when American civilians only know the military through stupid movies like this and video games like Modern Warfare 2. No wonder most young people become disillusioned after they enlist…
February 21st, 2010 at 8:14 am
As a veteran this movie is an ATROCITY. The idiot masses may think this movie is an accurate portrayal, but that is simply due to your lack of military knowledge. There was nothing in this movie even semi-accurate except for the color of the sand.
I could make a list of ALL the absolute fallacy, but I don’t have time.So here is a brief list. Three EOD techs running around in a Humvee with no command and control: BS. The “sniper” scene with the disabled SAS team: absolute horse crap.Such a stupid portrayal of the best spec ops teams in the world sittin around with their thumbs in their asses gettn picked off at over 800 meters by a KNOWN spiper position, and then the EOD guys grab the Barret and sit there for hours… : holy crap that was horse crap. Three words for you CLOSE AIR SUPPORT. the list goes on and on. THIS MOVIE SHOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT INTO PRODUCTION, ABSOLUTE CRAP !!!!
February 21st, 2010 at 10:26 am
the movie sucked. i agree with the review 100%.
February 21st, 2010 at 5:07 pm
This movie stunk so bad lol – terrible!
February 22nd, 2010 at 9:33 am
It was boring and cliched. And unrealistic. And pandering. I hate it and I can’t believe it’s nominated for ANY awards.
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:41 am
amen man, the movie truly sucked balls, stupid woman bitch director.
February 26th, 2010 at 11:43 pm
Hi. I am not someone important. I am not anti-war, I know next to nothing about real soldiers or real combat, I don’t even know how to fire a weapon (point and pull the trigger?).
I like movies though. I can tell you, from the simple standpoint of enjoying a movie (its a form of ENTERTAINMENT) this movie was probably one of the worst I have ever seen. It is VERY rare for me to flat out turn a movie off before it is over. Very rare.
The characters were genuinely interesting. In the same sense that spongebob is genuinely interesting. I mean, at least he makes little kids laugh…
I think almost every single video game I have ever played had a better plot than this movie.
The one thing this has going for it is the car bomb scene makes me cringe with a little fear for the characters. The tension created when he removes his gear because the bomb is big enough to blow them all to hell anyway – that lends a great deal toward the emotion its trying to convey.
Oh wait, that scene was in the trailer. Its not even a spoiler that he removes his gear and says he wants to die comfortable. Jesus.
I mean shit – I don’t think Avatar really deserves best picture – I still ENJOYED the damn thing. This movie is utter shit. Someone please wake up the goddamn critics. These critics don’t deserve to tell us what is any good.
February 27th, 2010 at 7:30 am
For those of you who are insulting the ones who dislike the movie, at least give us credit for watching it and sitting through a painfully long and drawn out movie. The Hurt Locker is boring and slow and the suspense is very dim simply because there is NO BUILD UP. THERE IS NO BUILD UP IN THIS MOVIE. You never get to know any of the characters. You only see one or two snippets of them interacting with the “yo yo bro” kind of language which does nothing but only try to show you that there is no racial tension between these guys. Everytime they show the locals they show them as people who look distrustful and cannot go about their normal lives without feeling mistrust towards the Americans which is overly exaggerated and only those people will find appeal to it who have no clue what the middle east is. In other words, PLEASE AVOID THIS. If you want good war movies please watch the below:
1) Saving Private Ryan
2) The Deer Hunter
3) Platoon
4) Black Hawk Down
5) The Pianist
The Hurt Locker falls in the same category as Pearl Harbour.
February 28th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Ah this is so refreshing to find people with brains. How the hell does this get 97% rating from suposed professional movie critics?
Hello No Plot! my wife left halfway through, I fast forwarded the latter half skipping sections trying to find the gem that these “experts” found so redeeming in this, but alas it was nowhere to be found.
Even if the director (how the hell is she up for any kind of award?) went through the tricky task of divising a plot, I would still have found it empty in terms of character development (none) and worst- the ridiculous military inaccuracies.
I am not in the military but it stood out as unrealistic from the get go and got far worse as it continued (as confirmed by those-in-the-know above)
One of the scenes I hated the most, When the taxi rushed the road block, without repurcussion (*smacks head with hand once more*)was their actually any point to it? it was 5mins of nothing, which is pretty much a microcosm of the whole movie.
Drawn out individual scenes (my god how long was the crappy sniper scene?) that have little or no point to them.
I have lost a little faith in human nature that this could get such incredible writeups. If anything the only thing this dog turd of a movie advocates is movie piracy, as I feel sorry for anybody that had to pay for this crap.
February 28th, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I would like to thank all of you for your insightful opinions on how much this movie SUCKED BALLS!!! Thanks for reaffirming my sanity. How could this movie possibly be nominated for any awards… P.S., for the critics who loved this movie, could you please stop smoking crack before you write your reviews.
March 2nd, 2010 at 12:15 am
I enjoy thoughtful movies very much, often more so than visually stunning movies. The Hurt Locker is a thoughtfully crafted movie that makes the viewer think and is quite decently filmed and acted, but its writing is too ordinary and simple to merit great praise. Even in 2009 there were many other movies that had better scripts than the Hurt Locker, by far. All in all, a decent movie but definitely not in the tier of best movies, not even in 2009. It simply is not special enough in any way.
On the other hand, Avatar is a film that far surpasses any other film made in terms of visual immersion and depth and reality of the world it portrays. No other film even comes close, and this alone is enough to merit it being recognized above all other movies of 2009, easily. Furthermore its story is superior to that of the Hurt Locker (not perfect, but still better) and its acting is good enough.
It irks me to see a great movie that stands out like Avatar, being compared with a not-so-special movie like the Hurt Locker.
I prefer books over movies in 99% of cases, but movies offer visual and audio impact that cannot be portrayed by books, which is its only merit against our own mental images rendered while reading books. Usually imagination > movies. However you really can’t imagine something better than Avatar.. it is the stuff of everyone’s dreams.
To say the Hurt Locker is superior to Avatar in the context of its medium of film, is laughable. Go read a book if you feel that the Hurt Locker was that good.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:59 am
I’m relieved to find this review and all of the comments supporting the review. This movie is really so boring and tedious I had to force myself to finish watching. I love war movies, but this is among the worst. I won’t elaborate on the problems, its been well documented in previous comments.
I’m really befuddled by what critics see in this movie. Is Cameron pulling strings for his ex? It seems to be a case of of mass hysteria.
I recommend “Generation Kill”. Good action, interesting characters, and its a true story, not a so-called composite.
March 5th, 2010 at 7:40 pm
The Hurt Locke was the cheesiest hackiest of hack movies since Top Gun and Lethal Weapon. I was looking really forward to seeing this until about 30 minutes in when I realized the maverick bomb squad guy was, in fact, Maverick. Then of course they had the guy who was 37 days till retirement/redeployment. What a hack movie. Did anyone else not figure this out?
Only reason it’s getting oscar nods cuz Hollywood wanted soooooooo bad for an anti Iraq movie to do well. If oyu think it was a neutral movie, count how may hackey “it sucks being here cuz everyine is dying” speeches there are in the first 30 minutes. can’t say much more….ciz I turned it off after 30 minutes. I hope District 9 wins over this, much better ORIGINAL movie
March 6th, 2010 at 12:16 am
This film was totally overrated, and it makes me question the validity of *any* film critic who would disagree with this assessment. I’m sorry, but this film was neither thought-provoking or realistic.
Nobody in the real world breaks the chain of command repeatedly like in this film…you don’t want to know how miserable your life is made if you do. This kind of cowboy cliche crap that Hollywood keeps pumping into the public psyche is NOT REAL. Beyond that, the film had a seriously weak storyline, stupid one-liners, a boring soundtrack, and played on every lame emotional appeal in the book.
Seriously, what is there to actually like about this film?
March 6th, 2010 at 8:07 am
I agree with those who have said – it’s not that it’s a bad movie – just not the amazing “movie of the year” that it’s being touted as. It hypes the military experience a bit too much for my liking. I get it – they are motivated differently than the average bear, they take great risks, but then it’s stuck on repeat. I wonder how much lobbying for this film is being done by the military interest groups? We all know it’s not a clinical process.
Perhaps there should be more disclosure on judging criteria for “movie of the year”.
March 6th, 2010 at 9:00 am
This movie stunk – I looked at my watch 5 times (at least) during the show. I wanted to like it – but a terrible script and subpar acting made this impossible.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
The people criticizing people for not being “deep” enough to understand this movie are way off base. Those are the same type of people that claim to smell the French “dirt” in a glass of wine. Anyway, I agree with the people who said it sucked. I was a Marine for 11 years and my son a Medic, just got back from Iraq. It was not realistic, not interesting, and not well edited. It was however “artsy” and directed by a chick, so of course it should win an Oscar. Before all ya “deep” people sound off. I’m a liberal and I like watching sub-titled foreign films, if they’re interesting, and I don’t own a pistol.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
One more vote for “This movie sucks”.
March 6th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
imho “Caroline” beats “Hurt locker” hands down
March 7th, 2010 at 4:41 am
the movie did suck,and you know what,the people that loved the movie are just pro war nuts,or just pure ignorant folk,but you know who didn’t like the movie overall,…ask all the hardened seasoned soldiers and veterans of Iraq,they will agree that no EOD unit ever goes on tour alone,and SAS being pussies?, and the pathtiec scene with the Iraqi boy?,come on!.
all we get is American Soliders good!,Iraqi Civilians bad!.
hopefully America will be invaded by another country and well actuality feel whats it like to defend your country and be called terrorist.
in need,Freedom is latent.
March 7th, 2010 at 6:36 pm
It wasn’t a terrible movie.
In fact, when it started out, it progressed well. But the failing moment was that loose end where Renner does jack sh*t about the boy that got hacked up. He breaks into someone’s house and… well that’s it, and he leaves. Plot point over and hung out to dry. Then the horrible character progression as there is very little development involving the black guy and the dorky white guy with glasses, besides one or two quick scenes. Some people call this a ‘character study’. I call it a slap together job.
And it wasn’t until recently that I started reading up on how unrealistic this movie was as well. Damn shame this got nominated and not a more deserving picture.
March 7th, 2010 at 8:49 pm
I rented the movie because of the rave reviews it has received. It’s not your typical war movie — it’s worse. I stopped watching it after the sniper scene. Like the other scenes before, it was unnecessarily drawn out with no suspense at all. The half of the movie I did see had no plot whatsoever. Just a camera following 3 guys around — most of the scenes felt overly contrived. Most critics like its “realism.” As some of the posters stated above, no EOD team would operate like the team portrayed in the movie.
BTW, I found this blog by googling “hurt lock sucks,” b/c I couldn’t believe I was the only person that thought this movie was awful.
March 7th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Usually inaccurate facts can be overlooked but when you’re depicting service members you would think they might make some kind of effort. It’s like the director never interviewed a single active duty EOD tech while making this film. If you’re going to depict soldiers, do it accurately. Three soldiers taking on the streets of Baghdad at night during the height of the surge, GENIUS. I can’t believe this major pile won best picture.
March 7th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
This dog won best picture. Go figure! A woman director has not won in a million years. Guess affirmative action comes to the Academy?
March 7th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
Terrible, terrible movie. I cannot believe it won all those awards. It was just terrible. It beat even precious and inglorious bastards. The worse blow is it beat a 700 million dollar movie. I am a girl and I could care less about the directors gender. Apparently women suck at making films if this is where movies are heading.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:38 pm
I did not like ‘The Hurt Locker’. Jeremy Renner was a big reason. His acting seemed very amateur, shallow, and unrealistic. I did like the black guy who was also in ‘Million Dollar Baby’ I thought he shined and was the only saving grace for the movie. There was no story. You didnt care about the characters. It didnt hold my interest. After they had that sniper fight and they killed all the “bad guys” then they just sat in dessert forever till they finally said i guess we should go. I was very dissappointed with this movie and I cannot understand how in the world it won for best pic. And how people are praising it. Her best movie was ‘Point Break’ no question, R.I.P. crazy Swaze. Hurt Locker gets both of my thumbs down.
March 7th, 2010 at 10:49 pm
Apparently the AMPAS believes that the Hurt Locker is closer to their concept of an ideal movie, rather than Avatar. The Hurt Locker grossed a tiny $21 million worldwide. Avatar grossed 100 times that. There’s a good reason behind this huge difference in viewers. If all filmmakers strove to make their films more like the Hurt Locker and not Avatar, people would stop watching movies altogether, including me. Bow your heads in shame, AMPAS members… you are now officially irrelevant..
March 7th, 2010 at 11:59 pm
cannot believe it won. i saw this picture with 8 other friends…we were all looking forward to it because of the nominations…ALL 8 OF US cheered when it was over..not because it was good (which it wasnt), but because it was over. i cannot believe it beat avatar, precious, district 9… wow. the ppl at the oscars are full of shit.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:11 am
I totally agree.. Soon as i finished watching the movie i google if anyone else thought it was terrible..That movie was horrible..I forced myself to finish watching because of reviews, but it never got better..What a waste
March 8th, 2010 at 2:26 am
I really wanted to like this movie. But I have to say, it is more like a collection of vignettes strung together than a cohesive narrative. Also the character development leaves a lot to be desired. I really think the Academy has embarrassed themselves on this one.
March 8th, 2010 at 4:40 am
1) EOD members as trained Snipers
Cliché cheese – this film is literally about a 1 man army
2) EOD guys breaking into buildings and clearing them – alone
3) 3 guys running around the desert – alone
4) Walking up to bombs – alone – and using “wire cutters”
5) Unbelievable Dialogue – “C’mon, let’s split up we’ll cover more ground that way”
6) Chasing bad guys at night – alone – in the city streets
7) The uniforms – look at them again and realize that this was supposed to be 2004
These are just some of the problems I have with this film…there are more too numerous to list. I wouldn’t recommend this film to my worst enemy
March 8th, 2010 at 5:01 am
This has to be some sort of conspiracy in order to give a woman an oscar. Probably the worst movie I’ve seen in 2009.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:49 am
AND IT WON BEST PICTURE OVER AVATAR!!!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!??? AVATAR WAS AN AMZING FILM AND THE HURT LOCKER JUST WENT ON AND ON
March 8th, 2010 at 10:13 am
one thing that really, really pissed me off about this movie, was the sniper scene. ok, the brit merc shoots, misses, readjusts, then gets shot by the iraqi sniper, think about it what would you do after that….what i was TRAINED to do in the Army is to relocate, that vantage point is locked in by the opposing sniper, so you grab the gun and move to find a better spot to shoot. what did thy do in the movie, they just went right back up to the spot where the brit was shot and recommenced firing, missed, had to reload, had a jam from the blood, and through ALL of the fuckery, they did not get spotted and shot from the sniper who already made it clear by killing the brit that he had that area covered, oh, and remind me again how a fucking engineer shot so effectivly with a 50., don’t tell me because he was a ranger, no the one who was a ranger was the spotter, FUCK, i served in afghanistan and this is NOT how shit goes down there AT ALL, so all you cunts who are saying this is a realistic representation of the war, get your head out of your ass and talk to a veteran of these conflicts, fucking dumbass people talking about shit they don’t understand.
March 8th, 2010 at 10:28 am
Fucking American Judges of movies Hurt locker is fucking propaganda for their fuckin g pussy war they make on Countrys they SHOULD NEVER BE THERE..
FUCKIng AMERICAN I WAIT ONLY AND LIVE ONLY FOR THE DAY I WILL SEE THE SKY FALL UP UR FUCKING IGNORANT FUCKING HEADs!
the NEw fucking Hitler now is USA ….fucking new age nazi the country of killers murderer and drug and weapon dealers…
March 8th, 2010 at 10:30 am
the sky ….we all know the ROck is coming on America…and that not a terrorist its a fuckign rock which all americans deserv cause you kill and terrorise all the planet …faggots!
March 8th, 2010 at 11:44 am
GOD THIS MOVIE SUCKED!!! I WAS SO PISSED OFF FOR WATCHING IT!!!
The only reason why the academy gave it best picture, best director, and several other awards was because a woman (Kathryn Bigelow), directed it and they didn’t want feminist groups around the country to shit bricks on the academy for being a male-chauvinist organization. They simply wanted to vote for a film that was going to make history and break the gender barrier, not to mention the fact that Bigelow is James Cameron’s ex-wife who sold Cameron’s rights to “Terminator” to MGM. Cameron did not direct the last two Terminator. Bigelow is a good example of how a dirty stealing skank can get an oscar for manipulating the academy. Hurt Locker was also the lowest grossing film to ever win best picture, which should tell you something right there. Avatar should have been the clear winner, but the politics of the Hollywood Academy doesn’t vote the same way that the majority does.
HURT LOCKER SUCKED!!!
March 8th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I think some parts were okay – the actual bomb disposal stuff. The looooong all-day sniper scene = not believable. The hero running around B-dad at night in civvies with only a 9mm pistol (and not getting himself killed) = pul-leeeze!
To me, it was a meller-drammer made up of a number of short stories strung out in sequence. H-wood seems to be drinking the same Oscar-for-a-woman-director Kool-Aid. She is a telented director, this film was not her best effort OR really Oscar material. A good movie could have been made using just the bomb disposal theme – without all the other junk.
Black Hawk Down and Saving Private Ryan – those are excellent war movies. Hurt Locker is not.
March 8th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Thank God I’m not the only one who hated this film.
My gripe (that I didn’t see in other comments) is that none of the “suspenseful” scenes ever panned out.
The guy with the video camera talking to the other guys, they never did anything.
The taxi driver who Jeremy Renner had the stand off with, drove away innocently.
The professor in the house that Renner broke in to, could have been a good story advancement but again had no relevance.
The onlooker watching Renner defuse the bombs that he pulled out of the ground, ran away.
As far as I’m concerned there was only one character and his angle has been played out in other films (adrenaline junky with a death wish).
Did the academy even watch Inglourious Basterds?
March 8th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
That is 2 hours of my life that I will never ever get back.
What a waste of a movie. It was honestly the worst I’ve seen in well over a year. Don’t believe the hype, the reviewers who are all just leg humpers trying to get bumped up by praising this movie. It was flat, boring, and the lead actor annoying and unexplained.
Avatar was a deeper story, one you walked away from actually muttering to your friends that it may have been the best movie you’ve seen.
It’s laughable that Avatar lost. But at least The Dude won.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
They made diffusing a bomb as suspenseful as watching paint dry.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Thank God I’m not the only one who hated this film.
My gripe (that I didn’t see in other comments) is that none of the “suspenseful” scenes ever panned out.
The guy with the video camera talking to the other guys, they never did anything.
The taxi driver who Jeremy Renner had the stand off with, drove away innocently.
The professor in the house that Renner broke in to, could have been a good story advancement but again had no relevance.
The onlooker watching Renner defuse the bombs that he pulled out of the ground, ran away.
As far as I’m concerned there was only one character and his angle has been played out in other films (adrenaline junky with a death wish).
Did the academy even watch Inglourious Basterds?
March 8th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
I would like the time I wasted watching this movie back, please. Aside from it being completely unrealistic as to how the military (any branch) operates, it was BORING. Additionally, the people that this film was based on are pissed that they are being portrayed so poorly and never signed off on having their “characters” created for a movie. The “journalist” who rode with this unit and wrote the screenplay must have been suffering from heat-stroke and imagined most of it. I had no problems with the acting, but the script sucked. Have I said that I hated this film, yet? It was though some moron thought that we couldn’t possibly understand what war is like and that he could make it up and people would believe him. And they did. I would love it if Oprah went after Mark Boal like she did James Frey for Million Little Pieces. Maybe she could prevent this tool from writing any more movies.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
This movie was not entertaining and not believable. I heard it was good and kept waiting for myself to care what was going on, but it never happened. Worst movie I sat through in a long time.
March 8th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I agree with the people who said it is unrealistic. I am a huge fan of military movies, they were trying to go for that realistic authenticity of war but they got so many things wrong (Terrible Film’s List above) that it was impossible to take it seriously.
March 8th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I spent 2009 watching a lot of movies and Hurt Locker was the worst of the bunch. I don’t think something like this has happened to me in all the times I’ve watched the Oscars. I’ve disagreed with the winners before but the movie that won was usually pretty good in its own way. Hurt Locker was just bad, period! Does anyone else remember anything like this happening?
March 8th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
I completely agree with the reviewer, this film was terrible. unfortunatly, its been made even worse by the fact that its won an Oscar, essentially putting it on a pedestal that it can in no way live up to.
Many people have listed reasons why it was bad, e.g. nonexistent characters, unrealistic in terms of the EOD squad, the fact that i can now not actually remember one thing that happened in it apart from a few bombs ETC…
it was also particularly cheesy and predictable.
all in all
utter shit
March 8th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Well it’s been covered by the previous 60 or 70 posts……if there was EVER a movie that depicted the the definitions of “Disjointed” and “Shallow”….this would be it!!
Wow…just like most of you, I rented this because of the reviews and tried so hard to find ’something’ likeable about it.
I actually felt like I was being “blocked” by some unknown force from being able to associate with the different characters on any emotional level whatsoever. I found myself actually trying hard to create ’something’…..anything that would make me care at all what these people were doing. In just a couple of instances I began to feel a ‘hole’ that I could try and squeeze my emotions into in order to create some semblance of the depth some have claimed they actually found…..but then the opening would evaporate into thin air as quick as it appeared leaving this seemingly titanium barrier to any understanding of or emotional attachment to the non-existant plot unfolding – No – unravelling before me.
After watching the movie awards, I did come to one conclusion – Wherever the votes originated from for this movie’s awards….that group of individuals is severely out of touch with entertainment reality.
Judging by the reviews on this site, I am relieved to see the vast majority of people have realized just how shamefully awful this reel of film (can’t bring myself to call it a movie) really is.
March 8th, 2010 at 5:03 pm
Seems like every veteran myself included thought this movie stuck. Part of the problem is very little research was done (if it was they really failed) to get things accurate. No unit would be running around “rogue” the way these guys were portrayed. I honestly couldn’t even finish watching this movie it was so poorly done. I’ve tried twice thinking it might grow on me but it didn’t. This movie is only liked by those who have no idea what goes on in the military.
March 8th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
I rented this movie after the oscars…omg…terrible, terrible, terrible. They have far better war movies on HBO than Hurt Locker. The one with Kevin Bacon and the other one with Tommy Lee Jones…way, way , way better!
March 8th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
James…Oscar is full of shit. Do you remember when Haley Berry one for Monster’s ball, and when Kim Bassinger won for LA Confidential….no way near what an academy performance should be. I didn’t see Milk, because I refuse to watch it, but Sean Penn didn’t do anything special in Mystic River…I thought Mickey Rourke was great in the Wrestler…whether he played part of his real life there or not, still a great performance
March 8th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I agree with this review 100%. The hurt locker was simply put a flat movie, watching it was like drinking a can of cola that had lost its fizz. Throughout the entire film I though whats the plot? Why do I care about this team? Is something intriguing ever going to happen? The movie was essentially a boring documentary. I felt Jarhead was a much better film but it didn’t recieve this kind of critical acclaim. The fact that it won best picture is terrible, the movie failed to entertain. In turn it makes me wounder what on earth the academy bases its decisions on? Inglorious Basterds, Avatar, District 9 and the Blind Side were much better films.
March 8th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Even a brain dead numb nuts with no military experience should have wondered why the terrorist trigger man didn’t just blow up the damn bomb instead of letting someone defuse it. Every single time that idiot walked up to a live IED I wondered why the guy holding the remote detonator didn’t pull the trigger!?!
More holyweird liberal anti-war propaganda – trying to show how fucked up we are for being at war in the first place. Hey libs – remember when you tried to make us lose the war in Iraq by resisting the surge? Too bad for you the surge actually worked – we’re winning and you hate it don’t you. More bad news; remember when your loser parents made us lose in Vietnam? Well the vietnamese people we promised to help were left defenseless – and by making us surrender/lose that war – you helped murder 2,500,000 innocent vietnamese citizens. Good war or not; we must win.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
I HATED THIS MOVIE, AND TOTALLY AGREE WITH THIS REVIEW.
I don’t know what makes people want to watch something as stupid as this. I’m guessing it’s because guys like action films, but honestly, I thought the Academy would have better taste than that.
It was boring. Even the “suspense” scenes were boring.
It raised a lot of questions about the characters and their actions that were never answered.
I would put this on par with “There Will Be Blood” which I found unbearably horrible, just so you can get a taste of my taste in movies.
On a 1-10 scale I give it a -3.
March 8th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
couldn’t agree more,
This movie winning so many Oscars just shows how political the whole system has become.
Avatar sold out the Hurt Locker by insane amounts, that alone shows which was the best picture.
then again, this win just shows either 1 of 2 things.
1: the Oscars were rigged for political purposes.
2: Americans love to see ‘their’ men and get the false sense of patriotism.
and before a flame war begins, everyone I have talked to cannot believe it won so many Oscars either. American or anywhere else.
March 8th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
As a member of the military, i honest feel like The Hurt Locker was an abomination. It started out cool but, quickly deteriorated into horse manure. There were so many inaccuracies, i’m not even sure where to begin. From a single 3 man team going out on missions alone to the main character “wandering” off the FOB undetected, this movie was just filled with crap. How dare they put this in the same catagory with amazing movies like Saving private Ryan.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Everyone knows (or should) that when a car rushes a position in Iraq that they just open up on it.
Everyone knows (or should) that only a jackass would stand by with a cell phone visible in his hand rather than just detonate his explosives from inside a building as soon as viable target is nearby. Everyone also knows (or should) that the security man wouldn’t scream at him to ‘put the phone down’, he’d just shoot him.
Everyone knows, (or should) that people who plant bombs don’t just stand around filming while someone disarms their handiwork.
Everyone knows (or should) that the protagonist was not at all a believeable character.
This movie was not at all authentic.
March 8th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I personally don’t think even Hollywood people thought this movie was worth an Oscar. But of course, nobody can say that lest they be viewed as being anti-patriotic. I totally respect our troops, but this movie didn’t thrill me. Even the writing. Way over-rated. Hot-shot soldiers, speaking rudely with locals, etc… not very accurate in some ways.
March 9th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Hurt locker is a stupid movie. It looks more like a documentary. Bring out crap in the name of war.
March 9th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
i agree. there was no character development nor any psychological or emotional complexity in the movie. it was also horribly unrealistic and boring.
March 9th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
The Hurt Locker Sucked Big Time!!!
The sniper scene was bullshit garbage and unrealistic. Blood will also not jam a .50 cal.
You cannot put out a burning car with a 5-10lb fire extinguisher either.
The 7 things “Terrible Film” mentioned above also made me laugh.
Ad Nauseum Ad infinity…
There are war junkies, and that was what this was obviously about, but it was a convoluted script with no depth and the most unrealistic piece of crap I have seen in a long time. It was written, based on real stuff, by a writer/reporter who tagged along in Iraq, and there were certain things in the movie he would have not be allowed to tag along with.
The writer was an idiot and the movie was a piece of shit.
If this is what the academy (or the public) thinks is a great movie, then they are all about as smart as a couch and as useful as screen-doors on a submarine.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:02 pm
I watched this movie with my wife (at my wife’s insistence that I not ruin it because I just returned from Iraq six months ago) and it wasn’t even 10% accurate. Not only was it accurate, it couldn’t have happened.
1. Never do we EVER leave the wire with only one vehicle. We ONLY leave in a convoy.
2. An EOD team is attached to a company, battalion, or a brigade and EVERYONE that I’ve seen (and I seen a lot due to my job doing route clearance) are about a squad size. They are too valuable to the team to ever leave the wire alone unless they are large enough of a squad to travel in a convoy of their own.
3. An EOD team only arrives after we’ve already secured the scene, so no gunfights erupt while they are there.
4. Most of the EOD I worked with were Navy and Air Force; the Army (and I’m in the Army, so this isn’t biased) is very short of EOD members.
5. If that E-6 ever snuck out of the wire, he wouldn’t have made it back alive. And, if he could have got out (it takes I.D. to leave the wire just the same as it takes to get back in) and got back in, he would have had a first class ticket to go visit the Colonel and his Sergeant Major, then his LTC and his Sergeant Major, then his Captain and his First Sergeant. His career would be finished after he spent time in jail and finished his making big rocks into little rocks.
6. A full bird Colonel would have never ordered the murder of an unarmed Iraqi and he certainly would have never praised the actions of that E-6 after blinding his team with smoke and acting so recklessly to disarm a bomb. Also, a Colonel is so high ranked that he would never be in an area that hadn’t been presecured and occupied to maintain that security.
7. The LTC that was the “doc” would have never left the wire and especially, just like the full bird Colonel, not been in an area that hadn’t been presecured and the route precleared. The only exception to this is with a MITT team.
I could go on and on, but this movie is more unrealistic than Tom Cruise’s little air plane movie. It’s a disgrace that a movie with such acclaim turned out to be such a disaster.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
this movie sucked fat cock
March 10th, 2010 at 2:10 am
No plot, no character building. Wasted 131 minutes of my life watching this movie.
March 10th, 2010 at 2:24 am
No, not that good of a movie and definitely not deserving of the awards. Sound editing? This movie had very little complex sounds to edit compared to the other nominees. Best picture? Wow. I can’t seem to understand how this film is so highly regarded. It was pretty boring for the most part.
As a person who loves war films with little or no action, “The Hurt Locker” did not keep me engaged, did not have much emotion, had a static protagonist, negligible supporting cast, it dragged on, no complex character interactions (If there is no action, a movie should have that) and basically, if this film was a tribute the least Bigelow could have done was to be as true to facts as possible. If you’re going to make a movie close to peoples’ hearts, do it right.
Many films that were nominated in the same categories as “The Hurt Locker” were more deserving. I’m sorry, but it was pretty obvious. I feel the other nominees got slapped in the face pretty bad.
Low budget/high budget, Fiction/Non-fiction it doesn’t matter. Good story telling is good story telling and this film was not good enough to win those Oscars in my opinion. My opinion means nothing since the Academy awards once again proved that the Oscar is not awarded to the art of “film making” but to films that were lobbied to win it. Politics. I think film makers should boycott the Oscars. I mean, why even show your face there if you know the same crap is going to happen again and again.
Just compare this movie to many other war films that didn’t win Best picture. Hell, Black Hawk Down was hands down one of the top ten best war films ever…no Best Picture award. If I offended anybody, I apologize. I know movies are highly subjective, but if you look at this movie objectively as a war film, it was not a very good one. People say high gross in the box office doesn’t necessarily mean good story (it could just mean a good marketing campaign). I agree. I’m not going to talk about Avatar…amazing movie, saw it twice.
I am totally open mined so please, if someone wants to critique everything I just wrote, go right ahead. I’m just frustrated at the injustice.
March 10th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
I’m watching it right this second. I was so bored I started surfing the net and came across this page.
There is PLENTY of the typical hollywood blow crap up scenes. I don’t understand how the people that like this movie are saying things like “Yeah, you didn’t like it because it doesn’t have the hollywood blow up scenes”. wtf? That’s all it is. Blow up something here, run a little bit, blow up another, have a beer, have a smoke, OH! another bomb. Dismantle that. There is NO story. No plot. I don’t even know their names. All I know is the “billy bad ass” main character.
{SIGH} Looks like there is still 20 minutes left of this crap.
March 10th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
I agree the movie sucked.
March 12th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
HOW ON EARTH DID THIS WIN BEST PICTURE???????
The legitimacy of the Oscars has officially gone down the drains. Namesake awards are not valid.
Getting one’s balls sucked is a pleasurable experience…while watching this movie is like giving oral sex to a cactus.