I watched it last night and agree with your assessment although I thought they went on one mission too many making it just a bit too long of a movie. The acting, the look and the script were excellent. As far as as James was concerned, they highlighted his attitude in the very beginning of the the film: War Is A Drug and he was an addict. It was perfectly illustrated in the scene where he was cleaning the gutters; going from defusing 15 bombs a day to scooping out muddy crap would an adjustment that many can't make. I think Sig can attest to this, at least to a degree. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, but it is a reality for many soldiers who fought.

And the kid was not his buddy, we see him a little later.

I saw this when it first came out. I can't remember a film that has been able to ratchet up the tension like this one did. Everything was tense and intense. It wasn't predictable.

SPOILERS BELOW!

Guy Pearce's character was killed off ten minutes into the movie. Perfect casting if you're trying to make a point with an unexpected death scene. He's not a big star but he can certainly carry a film and I went into the film not knowing anything about it and firgured he was the main dude. What's more, how he died was a total surprise. He was outside the blast radius, after the explosion I figured he'd pop up shaken but a little wiser for the experience. Nope, he died. From that point on you knew anything could happen.

What I liked best about the film was that that Renner had a super hot wife and a cool little baby that really meant nothing to him. He was just killing time until he could step back into his real life. Not that that's a cool way to be but it was a hell of a realization for a viewer.

I'l probably rewatch this later this week, I never did figure out if the kid that died was actually his buddy or just a kid that looked like him.

We saw it a few weeks back. I enjoyed the movie......it made me appreciate those I know that have been there....a whole hell of a lot more.

I watched it last night and agree with your assessment although I thought they went on one mission too many making it just a bit too long of a movie. The acting, the look and the script were excellent. As far as as James was concerned, they highlighted his attitude in the very beginning of the the film: War Is A Drug and he was an addict. It was perfectly illustrated in the scene where he was cleaning the gutters; going from defusing 15 bombs a day to scooping out muddy crap would an adjustment that many can't make. I think Sig can attest to this, at least to a degree. I'm not saying it is a bad thing, but it is a reality for many soldiers who fought.

And the kid was not his buddy, we see him a little later.

I'm not EOD, so I've never defused bombs...unless you count setting them off on accident. As to the idea that going from fighting in combat to working in a "mundane" environment, that does happen and the adjustment is difficult and some people adapt better then others.

I do work with EOD guys and all of them said that while "The Hurt Locker" is entertaining it is not very realistic. EOD is a tough job to get into in the Army and some of the characters in this movie would NEVER make it into EOD...they don't want those types of personalities in that profession. In that aspect the movie is more Hollywood than reality.

And war is a drug. It happens. It doesn't make us bad people, it makes us human. I would rather be back in Afghanistan right now fighting then where I am, but that's not my decision right now. Its not because I want to go kill people anymore, its because I feel I should be out there fighting alongside my comrades. Its hard to explain.

I'm not EOD, so I've never defused bombs...unless you count setting them off on accident. As to the idea that going from fighting in combat to working in a "mundane" environment, that does happen and the adjustment is difficult and some people adapt better then others.

I didn't think you had but it sure seemed that the regular ARMY was pretty heavily involved wherever a bomb was discovered.

I do work with EOD guys and all of them said that while "The Hurt Locker" is entertaining it is not very realistic. EOD is a tough job to get into in the Army and some of the characters in this movie would NEVER make it into EOD...they don't want those types of personalities in that profession. In that aspect the movie is more Hollywood than reality.

I thought that guy was a bit over the top; you couldn't act that maverick with so many soldiers depending on you but as you say-there's nothing they won't overblow.

And war is a drug. It happens. It doesn't make us bad people, it makes us human. I would rather be back in Afghanistan right now fighting then where I am, but that's not my decision right now. Its not because I want to go kill people anymore, its because I feel I should be out there fighting alongside my comrades. Its hard to explain.

Actually it's probably not much different than anyone who must give up something they love doing, like an alcholic who can no longer drink; they're still living but not enjoying themselves as much. With soldiering, I would imagine a sense of purpose is the main thing that goes. The consequences are much more severe for a mistake on the battlefield than not cleaning the gutters before the next rain.