by Chris Marshall:
In 2009, a war film once again won Best Picture, and like
all the previous winners, it focuses on a small group of individuals rather
than providing any broader context for the events depicted. This time around,
our protagonists are members of a bomb squad in Iraq, faced with the extremely
dangerous task of defusing IEDs.
We spend an extensive period of time with three different
characters, but the true focus of the film is on William James (Jeremy Renner),
who takes over as head of the squad when the previous leader (Guy Pearce) is
obliterated by a remotely detonated bomb[1].
James seems like a normal enough guy at first, but it soon becomes apparently
that there is something a little off about him. It’s as if he cherishes the
thrill of his job.
That’s a positive characteristic in many occupations, but
when your job entails a significant risk of dying every time you do it, it can
be a little unsettling, especially if you are one of the guys with the duty of
protecting him. Making matters worse is that James is not much of a
communicator, going so far as to remove his headset during one mission.
