The Hurt Locker

The opening part of Director Kathryn Bigelow's film "The Hurt Locker" includes a line that war is a drug. That explains what is behind the actions of Sgt William James (played by Jeremy Renner) in "The Hurt Locker". James is an expert in disarming bombs and when he joins his unit ,which has just lost a respected member while trying to dispose an improvised explosive device, it is clear that he not only doesn't fear extremely dangerous situations, he cherishes them. He tells a Major in the movie he has disarmed more than 800 bombs and probably wishes he could disarm many more. The two subordinates of his unit who's job it is to provide protection for him and have just over a month left on their tour of duty in Iraq now have to struggle to find a way to work with a soldier they both admire and fear.
'The Hurt Locker" has no agenda regarding the United States invasion of Iraq and doesn't want to make audiences cry when a soldier perishes. It is a unique war movie showing the difficult situations soldiers, who in this case are members of a bomb disposal unit, face and how each member deals with them. Sgt James is the renegade who always takes chances. Seargeant Sanborn is more traditional and goes by the book while always looking out for the safety of his unit. Specialist Eldridge is understandably insecure since he has to guard against Iraqi spectators who could be bombers themselves. All the characters are interesting in this movie, but the character of Sgt William James may be one of the most fascinating war movie characters in recent memory. He is a soldier constantly on the edge, always flirting with the line between bravery and insanity. James does not excel in his job at disarming bombs out of a need to be a hero but to provide a stimulating adrenaline rush that he can no longer live without. For James, being safe back home is like a temporary detox house that he can inhabit but never live in comfortably.
Director Kathryn Bigelow and Writer Mark Boal deserve high marks for creating a different view of war through the eyes of soldiers facing the unpredictable and extremely dangerous task of disarming bombs. It is both a tense war thriller and a first rate character study. The lingering thought audiences will probably have is of Sgt William James and how the extremely dangerous job of disarming bombs which he probably feared in a younger day became without any doubt the one thing he loves in his life that he will never be able to let go of.