Keepin' it Reel: The Hurt Locker Published Oct. 23, 2009 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Incirlik -- The Hurt Locker Rated R Synopsis: In a place where anyone can be an enemy and anything can be a bomb, an Army Explosive Ordnance Team gets the job done as they count down the days to their rotation. They call me Roy A blast of reality Filmed in Kuwait and Jordan; this movie had a very real feel to it. Anyone who's been deployed will be very familiar with the look of the streets in this movie. They even had the scraggly cats -- amazing! There was kind of a small plotline in this movie. Its primary character is a fill-in technician after the team loses their team lead; this guy's got a serious death wish. The whole movie rotates around how the rest of the team is growing to hate their new team lead. Again, not too much plot, it primarily focuses on outrageously stressful situations and huge explosions. It was visually enticing; very familiar and very realistic. I would recommend this movie as a definite rental. If you've got a cool big-screen hi-definition television, this would be a good choice. Narghile Nightingale I don't want to be put in: The Hurt Locker "The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug." This movie opened with the above quote from the 2002 best-selling book War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, by New York Times war correspondent and journalist, Chris Hedges. It was perfect foreshadowing for the story told in the movie as well as how it was filmed. This movie follows Explosive Ordinance Disposal team members on their year-long tour in Iraq. It almost gave me motion sickness because it was filmed to make you see through the eyes of the EOD tech; at times, the shot would start from the ground as a bomb was exploding. You could see the ground ripple and the dust fly then it would pan out to give you the whole picture. It really drew me into the story. Watching them systematically search through cars for bombs and discover secondary IED's in the process made my heart rate fly through the roof! It also showed me how certain career fields, like EOD, in the military that are constantly outside of the wire and "in the fight" might not be able to come back to the States and sit behind a desk. After you've done things like diffused a bomb or blow up a cache, returning to "normalcy" seems bland. It made me appreciate first responders and gave me a sense of pride. God bless EOD for going where they go because I want to stay far away from the "hurt locker." Bedpan (EOD Guest Critic) Hits close to home I've seen the Hurt Locker more than once. I think I might have shown a copy of it to friends and family, except for my mom, four or five times. And yesterday I saw it again at the base theater; where I was finally able to appreciate it for what it was. Not as a documentary, but as art with all the licensees associated with it. It is visually distinct, if a bit sparse on plot line. It makes broad statements about war without becoming tedious. Its cinematography is gritty but not distracting. A disclaimer: I have not de-fuzed 873 IEDs, but my membership in the EOD community does help me understand some of the movies situations; particularly the scene in the grocery store, picking out a box of cereal for his wife amongst an entire aisle of seemingly identical boxes, where it's hard to see any significance in day-to-day events. I appreciated the portrayal of EOD's teamwork: Even though SGT Sanborn despised SSG James, he had his back every time it was required outside the wire. In garrison, it's nice to have a wingman you can talk to about troubles at home. Out where there are things and people intent on killing you, I would like someone to let me know I'm doing something stupid, perhaps even forcibly. That's what my community does, and should be doing, save all those things covered by GO 1. Chaz The Hurt Locker - A Real Treat My job as a journalist allows me to dabble in many different career fields, however, I haven't had the chance to do a story on an explosives ordinance disposal shop. With that said, I was somewhat clueless as to what entailed exactly their job. Now I know. After watching "The Hurt Locker," I got a better idea of what they do, and it's pretty extreme stuff. The movie was unique in the sense that besides the countdown of days until the team returned home, there was no story line and no defined beginning, middle and end. It made it interesting because I found myself not even caring about that, but waiting for the team's next "challenge." One part that really stood out to me was the intense moments when the local man pleaded for his life with explosives strapped and locked to his body. Another was when the main character discovered that the young Iraqi kid he befriended was alive after he believed the kid was killed. I don't want to say too much about what happened because I don't want to ruin it. It's intense, gritty and for the most part, real. I spoke with an EOD member and asked if they thought it was real and that's what they said, "For the most part." Well that's enough for me. See it. Agree or disagree? Click "add a comment" below to give us your opinion. Click here for an introduction from the critics.