Blu-ray of the Day: The Hurt Locker

Cast: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow.
Screenplay: Mark Boal.
Score: Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders.
Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd.

The winner of six Oscars, including best picture and director, dramatises the hair-trigger tensions within a US Army bomb disposal squad in Iraq when an adrenalin junkie reports for duty and recklessly undertakes spectacularly heroic feats that jeopardise the lives of fellow soldiers. The first half of The Hurt Locker is a heart-stopping tour-de-force of action, suspense and dread that captures the contradictions and paranoia of being an occupying force in a territory that’s booby-trapped to the hilt. The second half loses momentum and edge but not enough to stop The Hurt Locker from being a riveting showcase of filmmaking skill. Disappointingly, insight into how it was made has been denied a wider audience because only the North American Blu-ray includes what’s meant to be a benchmark filmmakers’ commentary; here, the extras are chiefly promotional.

Movie: 😀 😀 😀 😀 😐
Image: 😀 😀 😀 😀 😀
Extras: 😀 😀 😐