The Hurt Locker

"The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

A very apt opener for The Hurt Locker.

The film is about a US Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) team in Baghdad as they defuse bombs. These soldiers are not there to kill, but they are there to save lives. It is not a documentary but is based on the accounts of Mark Boal, a freelance journalist who was embedded with an American bomb squad in the Iraq war. It is said that the movie is supposed to show a more realistic view of what happens in war and the lesser known heroes in the military.

I found it kind of slow, not very riveting nor compelling. Cinematography though is excellent. The scenes are so realsistic, they look very much like the footage we see on TV - chaos, burnt cars, streets and buildings with people. And finally, they take you to the suspenseful seconds before a bomb is detonated - or not.

The movie showed what is normal in a soldier's life. Facing death everyday yet having fun right after. There is no time for emotions. And just when you think these soldiers go back to their normal lives - they don't or they can't because - "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug."

By the way, the title is slang for being injured in an explosion, as in "they sent him to the hurt locker".