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Once the unbearably exciting first ten minutes of Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" came to a close, I literally looked up at the auditorium ceiling and then at the speakers along the walls and smiled.  Sure, the sole explosion during "Locker's" opening scene was as loud as one of the numerous explosions in a mindless Hollywood blockbuster, but because the scene (and by the end, the entire movie) was so brilliantly Directed, I actually felt a bit shook up. And the urgency was unmistakable. I knew I was in.

Although "Locker" ran through the 2008 festival circuit, winning prizes and nominations from the Venice Film Festival and Independent Spirit Awards respectively, it has risen to be a serious Oscar contender for 2009.  Already Oscar talk is in line for Jeremy Renner for Best Actor, Bigelow for Best Director & more than anything, for the Best Picture award itself.

Playing it straight and without any of the glam from earlier studio pictures concerning terrorism in the Middle East (a catalog example of that bland trend would be Peter Berg's "The Kingdom"), Bigelow's picture is constructed on two visceral halves, thus creating a stasis of action and ideas.  After the thrilling opening, the first section of the film is essentially back-to-back-to-back set pieces/sequences that pit Staff Sergeant James (Renner), Sergeant Sanborn (Anthony Mackie from "Half Nelson") & Sergeant Thompson (Brian Geraghty) in increasingly hostile situations, usually involving the disarming of carefully hidden bombs--in public.  There is no "bad guy" in this war film, nor is there a political agenda to the piece.  It's a rich character study of three very different men--the rogue, the rational & the rookie--that wisely uses the war in Iraq simply as an environment.  For the most part, these are men who are just performing jobs (with the slight final exception of Renner's character who is practically addicted to the adrenaline of surviving day to day in Baghdad) and it's the level of no-bull routines that makes the film sort of frightening to watch.

The second section of the film still has expertly staged scenes of the team trying to locate and dismantle different bombs, but in between these horrific chapters we're given glimpses of each man's clouded internal path toward making some sort of personal amends with their reasons for being in the war in the first place.  We learn Sanborn does not want to grow up to start a family just yet.  We learn that Thompson may just be in over his head and now has to suck it up and cringe through the day to day grind.  With Sgt. James, we're given the real mixture of heroism and hubris.  Sure his job requires heroic actions, but he is a hot dog; an individual who relishes in rebellion and doing things against the books for the hell of it.  It isn't until we see his involvement with a young street vendor and then some closing scenes concerning his relationship with his immediate family that we begin to see shades of a really lonely soul who has finally found his comfort zone: staring death in the face. Everyday.

The film has strong and useful supporting turns from Oscar Nominee Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, Christian Camargo & David Morse and it has a very real sense of location and geography (much in the tactical way Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" did).  My only concern with the film is its actual release time: Summer 2009 (aka NOW).  In a summer where forgetful action fare like "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and even worse "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" have a monopoly on Box Office receipts, "The Hurt Locker" will have to depend largely on critical reception and word of mouth to find its audience.  In a film industry that manages to convince audiences to lap up action films that have the word "Transformers" slapped on the the poster, it's inspiring to see Ms. Bigelow in full command of the craft--even using special effects and the handheld camera toward the benefit of actual storytelling.  Should she receive an Oscar nomination for Best Director (and believe me she deserves it) let it be a shaking of the finger toward the banal Michael Bay and his split second scenes/frames/pieces of shit, mindless movies.

It's okay to like action movies, believe me.  It's just even better to seek out those action movies that might get you thinking or feeling a little less light-headed.  Trust me, Shia LeBeouf & Megan Fox won't miss your presence.