Comments on: The Hurt Locker is Finally Available

By: DonkeyKong

DonkeyKong — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:58:33 +0000

Relax heroes. I'm sure some hoplite thousands of years ago bitched that the Illiad was "tactically unrealistic bullshit", it's a story made accessible to the general public.

I think what Michael is saying is it accomplishes that.

By: Hugh M. Vandervoort

Hugh M. Vandervoort — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:27:09 +0000

I agree with the "Generation Kill" comment.

As a Vietnam combat vet I found this film to be ludicrous. If you read the comments at Amazon or IMDB you'll find a lot of vets who feel the same way, and details of why.

So, does the director have an obligation to be more realistic, or to at least avoid the absurdities of this movie, which made me want to turn it off?

I think so. Otherwise it's just a fantasy, a parody of what war is really like and does us all a disservice.

Three thumbs down on this movie. The director phoned it in and we shouldn't settle for less than her best.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:40:07 +0000

Agree w/ Kolya. Brandon's review is accurate to his experience with modern warfare and highlights the unrealistic scenarios presented in this movie. I am afraid that I am going to be disappointed by this movie expecting an accurate portrayal of the war in Iraq and be exposed to an action film instead.

By: Lucas

Lucas — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:10:52 +0000

For my money, Generation Kill is the best depiction of the current Iraq War.

By: Kolya

Kolya — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:30:59 +0000

I saw "The Hurt Locker" last night. What a disappointment! I guess my being a former US Army infantryman (before Iraq) was a liability: the stupidly unrealistic scenes were just too much. One implausible scene after another.

Excerpts from a review by an Iraq vet:

"I don't typically write book or movie reviews, but after this weekend, I really felt compelled to. This movie just stuck in my craw. But take heed: This is a review for military people. So if you've never been in the military or never been to Iraq, just stop reading this. Because if you keep reading, I'll probably ruin what could be a pretty good action flick for you. ... if you know anything about the Army, or about operations or life in Iraq, you'll be so distracted by the nonsensical sequences and plot twists that it will ruin the movie for you. It certainly did for me. To say that the scenes in this movie were "tactically unrealistic" wouldn't even begin to describe it. ..."

For the whole thing, go to:

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2975

By: Gary Rosen

Gary Rosen — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 07:21:41 +0000

That explains a lot, that Ombrageaux gets his facts from the Onion.

By: Ombrageux

Ombrageux — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:58:25 +0000

I will watch this.

On Jardhead's realism: see the Onion's take: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/ultra_realistic_modern_warfare

By: John Lynch

John Lynch — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:57:18 +0000

Jarhead was a realistic military movie. It was also boring.

By: Paul S.

Paul S. — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:23:36 +0000

Some Amazon reviewers who say they have EOD experience have criticisms worth reading for perspective. But Hollywood isn't reality anyway (unless you're bankrolling it); just depends on how far you're willing to suspend disbelief, I guess, particularly for those few who've walked in those shoes.

As one reviewer said, if an entirely accurate movie was made about military life it would be titled "Hurry Up And Wait", and nobody would watch it.