The Hurt Locker - Spoilers

[Art Andrews]

Alright, I am telling you now, there may be spoilers so if you haven't seen it, stop reading now and don't complain.


When I first saw the trailer for The Hurt Locker I put it on the "must see" list and now that I have seen it... I don't know how to feel. Something about this movie reminded me a lot of Jarhead (which I absolutely loved) but for me, the end of Hurt Locker just didn't seem to fit and for a movie that seemed incredibly believable and realistic all the way through but I can't help but feel that I missed something at the end or that the end was really tacked on and cheesy.

For the movie to end with Sgt James leaving his wife and son to go back to Iraq to perform such a dangerous job for, what appears to be the thrill, well, what does that say about him as a person? With that being said, I have a childhood friend who went to Iraq and Afghanistan several times as a Ranger, absolutely loved it, but hated the "restrictions" the military put on him, left the military and joined up with a private company doing "contract work" in those countries. I can't count how many times he has been but he absolutely lives for the thrill... BUT... he has no wife... no kids... no real attachments or commitments, and while he would certainly be missed if something happened to him it isn't quite the same as someone with a family.

Am I just missing something or did the ending where it almost felt like the movie was glorifying the hero returning to his passion feel a bit weird and out of place?

As a final note, aside from the end, I thought this movie was absolutely amazing.

 

[AT-AT Luvah]

I liked the movie as well, but I don't think Jeremy Renner's character was meant to be likeable. He was reckless and took unnecessary risks, putting his team in danger unnecessarily, almost getting the younger Aldridge killed at one point.

The scene of him in the cereal aisle in the States toward the end was meant to demonstrate that while this guy is at home defusing bombs in the midst of hellfire raining down around him, he is completely lost at a grocery store.

I don't think we as the audience were meant to like him all too much.

Hector

 

[Jango Wes]

Granted this is just my opinion.... I'm really trying to express this without sounding disrespectful, which I'm not.... Buy yeah, I think you're missing something. The rush you get from being over there, running missions outside the wire, the thrill... For mebit was addictive. It's not something you can replicate by bungee jumping. You have be there and expierence it. I HATED being on the FOB. After being over there for 15 months, coming back was a tough adjustment. Ther are people just like him who volunteer for multiple deployments, despite having families. It was a realistic ending in my opinion.

 

[letmebestormy]

I agree with AT-AT.

1) he wasn't meant to be a likable "hero".

2) I think he would have preferred to be able to stay home, clean muck out of gutters, go shopping, etc...But when the responsibility of choosing a cereal left him paralyzed he knew he was going back.

Good movie. Not great. Well deserving of all 5 Oscars it took down although I think the Best Picture nod was more of a political/Anti-Avatar vote than anything else.

But Best Director is well deserved. She put the viewer in Bravo Company. That's hard to do.

 

[Art Andrews]

First, just a note that I totally got that James was not necessarily a likable character and was very good at his job but very reckless and a bit unstable. I actually thought that was a very cool and realistic part of the movie.

Granted this is just my opinion.... I'm really trying to express this without sounding disrespectful, which I'm not.... Buy yeah, I think you're missing something. The rush you get from being over there, running missions outside the wire, the thrill... For mebit was addictive. It's not something you can replicate by bungee jumping. You have be there and experience it. I HATED being on the FOB. After being over there for 15 months, coming back was a tough adjustment. There are people just like him who volunteer for multiple deployments, despite having families. It was a realistic ending in my opinion.

Wes, you aren't being disrespectful at all. I have never served in combat. The closest "rush" I have experienced was back when I worked with the Sheriff's Department, and I am sure that isn't even close. I do get the whole "not fitting back in" thing, I guess in my mind the responsibility one feels toward their wife and child would supersede the desire to "get their fix" but I haven't walked in those shoes, and I haven't had to make that decision. Clearly, based on your experience, many do choose the latter. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[ItsThatGuy]

Didn't he mention that he married her only because he got her pregnant? He didn't seem like the family man type - I wasn't surprised by the ending.

 

[Apollo]

:lol There is an old saying that you could tell a SF Soldier by the Rolex, the Randall, the Vette, and the divorce papers! :lol

 

[Gilmortar]

Well coming from someone who has seen it first hand, some guys cannot turn off that switch from Combat Vigilance and Mindset to back home.

I was pretty upset with this movie as unfortunately, I don't believe it was accurate whatsoever. EOD does NOT run in only 3 man teams, no matter "how good" someone is. Especially when an E7 sneaks off the FOB in Civies and comes back through the front gate without any repercussions. Doesn't happen like that.

I went for 2 weeks with EOD while I was in Iraq out on route clearance. We encountered 7 IEDs in those 2 weeks and each time we had 5 humvees. 4 pull security and cordon off the area with regulation distance for however big the IED Explosive is.

Not a really big thing, but this movie takes place in 2003/2004....and they are wearing ACUs....ACUs didn't become regular issue till mid 2006 and even then, units werent issued them till about October or November or later.

It's a well written story, for what it's worth. But it just is not accurate by any means as what we face over there.

Now...for the topic at hand.

They tried to portray that this was his mentality... "i feel i have a job that im the best at doing, and im saving lives by going back, so I have to"

But what it comes across as was that (atleast to me, as a soldier who's been there and seen it), im too messed up to get some help, so i'll just go back over and forget about it all.

its an easy way to...you go over there and you put everything else in the back of your mind and focus only on the mission. I did it, when I was working, I didn't think of back home. I thought of where we were at that moment, and what I needed to do about whatever happened. Ever Vigilant.

There are guys who can't flip the switch when they come home. Even when I got home, I was jumpy at every boom I heard, I remember I was somewhere and a garbage truck lifted a dumpster and the metal doors slammed and I bought crapped my pants, till it hit me...You're back in the states, no mortars are flyin here...lol

What it comes down to, and what it doesn't really come out to say is in the ending is, " i am so messed up from being overseas to cope with someone I have to take care of other than myself, so im going to leave my wife and kid to go look after myself and only myself"

My 2 Cents on the Hurt Locker...

 

[saxe coburg]

"Moon" was a better movie... I'm just saying

I have to agree with Gilmore. Having worked with a lot of people that are current military in and out of the middle east, the movie had it’s share of inaccuracies… *but* I still enjoyed the film. Nothing too amazing, just a decent modern military movie. I saw it twice in theaters. Will I buy the DVD/Blu Ray? Probably not. I watched it, it entertained me for a couple of hours and I moved on.

 

[DARTH SABER]

Yup, all my friends who are in the military say the same thing. Not accurate at all.

THen there's the sniping scene with the Mexican standoff.
The British mercs resort to cowering behind a rock, while the EOD's turn into sniping experts.
THey take up position in the SAME spot where the last guy was sniped, and then don't even bother to use the armored vehicle that was a few yards behind them.


I also thought Moon was better.

 

[IEDBOUNTYHUNTER]

It was entertaining. not very accurate, but worth checking out for the non crab wearing types.

 

[Gilmortar]

Yup, all my friends who are in the military say the same thing. Not accurate at all.

THen there's the sniping scene with the Mexican standoff.
The British mercs resort to cowering behind a rock, while the EOD's turn into sniping experts.
THey take up position in the SAME spot where the last guy was sniped, and then don't even bother to use the armored vehicle that was a few yards behind them.


I also thought Moon was better.

OH jeez yeah, I totally forgot about that scene.

Not to mention that the insurgent with the Dragunov, a 7.62x54mm Round, which with the heat distortion puts the position of the sniper at about 400+ meters...Which the Dragunov can easily reach out and touch someone.

But for British "mercs" to go into battle without a properly zero'd Barrett M82A (M107) is nonsense. That's just preposterous. And the fact that the insurgent killed almost all the merc's with one shot one kill each time and it took 8 shots for an EOD SSG (who like mentioned is now an Expert Sniper, which in reality theres no saying that they never had any formal training) to finally acquire his target.

CMON!!!! Just the fact that this insurgent is SOOOOO good to pick off these mercs, but can't hit the a guy in the same spot who has had 8 shots to hit him? CMON!!!! REALLY??

 

[the_eli]

On a side note, Jeremy Renner was my acting coach in high school in Modesto, CA. I didnt even know he was up for an Oscar til I saw him on Oscar night!

Hes a great guy.

 

[Jango Wes]

That's just preposterous. And the fact that the insurgent killed almost all the merc's with one shot one kill g) to finally acquire his target.

CMON!!!! Just the fact that this insurgent is SOOOOO good to pick off these mercs, but can't hit the a guy in the same spot who has had 8 shots to hit him? CMON!!!! REALLY??

don't underestimate their ability ti shoot. There was a sniper in our AO who was picking off our turret gunners. While the were moving, sometimes 30 mph plus.

 

[Gilmortar]

How far was the distance though? Counter Sniper Stats for the areas of baghdad to basrah since 2003 have shown that 80% of all insurgent sniper attacks occur from 150 or less meters.

Not doubting their ability to zero a scope, but to rationalize that a Iraqi insurgent who doesn't have NEAR the training as a basic infantry grunt in the US Army has to have a spotter who can accurately judge windage, plungent fire transition to target, (and if we are talking further than 1000m as this quite possibly could be, unless someone can quote the film to give me an accurate distance they were playing towards, you can even house the Coriolis effect into play on top of that) can pick off however many trained soldiers in the same spot with one shot each that quickly, is pretty unrealistic. The math alone is a big factor as you and I know they aren't well educated around there at all.

And my argument isn't really so much of the insurgent, but that any old Army soldier can pick up a Barrett and become an expert sniper is ludicrous. Especially after running our brigade qualification range and seeing how many people couldnt make the 23 standard....for an infantry brigade. I was sick as hell and still shot 37.

 

[AT-AT Luvah]

Why in the movie during the sniper sequence did the main character (spotter) and the other guy (rifleman) keep watching the dead Iraqi for such a long time afterward?

 

[DARTH SABER]

Why in the movie during the sniper sequence did the main character (spotter) and the other guy (rifleman) keep watching the dead Iraqi for such a long time afterward?

I don't think they were watching the dead guy...I think they were waiting for the other guy was was still inside the building.

 

[Mechamaniac]

Yeah, for me, the movie was mildly entertaining but IMHO it took a 90 degree turn at that needless sniper mexican standoff scene and never really got back on course. In the end I came away with a feeling of......meh.

 

[Gilmortar]

Why in the movie during the sniper sequence did the main character (spotter) and the other guy (rifleman) keep watching the dead Iraqi for such a long time afterward?

Yes, there was a 3rd in the building, while the sniper and spotter were on the top of the building. You will notice at the end of that scene, the guy sneaks up around them from the railroad track there.

In this case, they didnt know if they were dealing with another sniper, and in that sort of scenario...he who pops up first, dies. So they most likely figured he was pinned down inside, and were waiting to be able to acquire a target.

However, he egresses from the building at some time, and got around on their flank.

 

[frosty]

I saw it after all the oscar buzz, didn't think it was that great a movie, didn't get what all the hype was about.