The Hurt Locker is probably the best film I’ve seen so far this year.  The story revolves around the three young men who make up Bravo Company, played by Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, and Jeremy Renner.  The best film I’ve seen so far set in the Iraq War, Bravo Company has one primary job: to diffuse bombs.  With that relatively simple premise, Katheryn Bigelow makes a movie filled with suspense, action, and just the right amount of humor.

There’s a pair of well placed cameos that I won’t ruin if you haven’t seen the film, but the star of The Hurt Locker in every sense of the word is Jeremy Renner.  He’s been around for awhile, starring in some good indie films, and popping up once in a while in a ‘Hollywood blockbuster.’  Every time I see him act I think, “OK, this is the film that puts him on the full scale Hollywood radar.”  Maybe this film will do it, maybe it won’t.  But his portrayal of James, the primary defuser for Bravo Company was (another) starmaking performance.  What makes a man crazy enough to even want this job?  What is his life like back in the U.S.?  Can he live a regular life when his rotation is done, or is diffusing bombs ‘the one thing he loves’ and the thing he will always be driven to do?  All questions the movie and the actor attempt to answer, and all answered in my opinion in a satisfying way.

If you’re looking for a political statement about the war, or an ‘us vs. them’ movie, this probably isn’t the movie for you.  If you want to see a film that will keep you engaged for a little more than two hours, I highly recommend checking this out.