The Hurt Locker

Directed by Katheryn Bigelow (Strange Days) and screenplay by Mark Boal (In The Valley of Elah), The Hurt Locker follows the Bravo Company Explosive Ordinance Disposal team from the United States Army through the last few weeks of it's rotation in Iraq before the soldiers go home for a break.
Day thirty-nine (to go) sees the unfortunate death of the team's leader, Staff Sergeant (SSG) Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce) after an improvised explosive device (IED) is detonated in the middle of a street. From the first moment of the film it's clear this is an extremely dangerous job.
The next day SSG Thompson is replaced by SSG William James (Jerem Renner). His roguish actions on duty do not impress teammates Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) or the young Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) one bit. Such recklessness and disregard of protocol can get you and your team killed.
Days pass and we begin to understand the gravity of the situation. A mere sighting of cables in the street can get the guys called in and buildings evacuated. While James works on disabling devices, Sanborn and Eldridge are on the constant lookout for anyone with a mobile phone or other device capable of detonating the explosive. In streets lined with doorways, alleys and windows filled with inquisitive onlookers, everyone is a threat.
The suspense throughout the movie is literally breath-taking. I found myself holding my breath many times while SSG James went to work on the bombs. There's a scene where the team meet up with some English soldiers that results in a 'Mexican stand-off' with some Iraqi snipers that seemed to go on for hours and I felt the tension every single minute of it.
The whole cast is flawless but Jeremy Renner is extraordinary. James' face may be worn and his chest may be scared but you can tell he loves every minute of the war. War is his drug; he's addicted to the adrenaline rush each day brings.
For a man who has to make split second decisions that often result in life or death, at home on leave while grocery shopping with his wife (Evangeline Lilly), James' faces a decision that seems simple enough but nonetheless stops him in his tracks. Which brand of cereal to buy.
Luckily, many of us will never have to go to war, I can't begin to imagine what it must be like out there but Bigelow takes us that little step closer to the line to show us a peak at life on the front line, to try to make us fathom what it must be like to have your heart simultaneously stop silent and pound furiously.
It seemed ironic that just before the film ends and we leave the cinema, SSG James is starting his next 365 day rotation in the Delta Company. While we get to walk away from it all we also know that he wouldn't have it any other way.
This truly is an outstanding film. There's a slow motion sequence of a bomb exploding and the shock wave travels along the ground raising up pebbles in it's path in unison, dirt and dust lifting of a burnt-out car that is just amazing to watch. Every moment, as bloody as some of them may have been, is perfect.
After watching this film it's clear why it took out so many awards at this year's BAFTA's and Golden Globes. If it doesn't take home more awards at next week's Oscars I will be very shocked. I'm sure Best Picture and Best Director are in the bag.
To want for a better pun... it is mind-blowing. Must see film. I might just be addicted it to watching it.
Eleven out of ten.