And this is not a spoiler because it occurs in the film’s first scene. Bigelow crafts all of this perfectly. We see the team’s precision in ensuring all protocols are followed and the risk, while everpresent, is minimized. Why is this so important in showing? Because as careful as the team was, this particular mission failed. And then enters the enigmatic, cocky, and, to some, detestable James, who conducts the same job as Thompson, but in a completely different way. I cannot say enough about how Renner brings out the pure cockiness in this character, which also makes him someone we root for because of his relationships with his infantry and the town folk. He is magnetic, but not always in a good way. In his first bomb dismantling mission, he completely ignores the established procedures between Sanborn and Thompson.

James does his own thing, for better or for worse. But make no mistake, his skill level and dedication to getting the job done are unmatched in his craft. Just seeing the sweat drip off his face as he determines which line to cut first has you squirming on the edge of your seat, especially after what we saw happen to Thompson. He is not half-assed in his job. The adrenaline entirely drives him the moment, walking twice as fast as paying half as much attention to an IED as Thompson did. We get the perfect foil. James refuses to let a robot do a job that it very well could do. James can’t get in the suit fast enough and then refuses to acknowledge Sanborn’s presence on the radio. We are now playing by James’s reckless rules.

After dismantling the bomb, James leaves but returns, realizing he has left his gloves. Keep in mind that a large number of Iraqi snipers have now appeared on the scene. This scene, as much as any other, shows the difference between James and Sanborn. James is addicted to the rush of the situation. The more dangerous it is, the better. This is what he lives for. Sanborn just wants to get home. When the film starts, the tour of the Bravo company will last less than a month. Sanborn and Eldridge want to go home. We don’t know what James wants. He lives for the moment.

The constant risk he puts Sanborn and Eldridge in gets old. A bomb defuser not listening to Sanborn is something he hasn’t experienced before. He wears his frustration on the grimace on his face and, later, punches James in his. His loose-cannon attitude even initiates a conversation between Eldridge and Sanborn in which Sandborn implies killing Will. “You know, these detonators misfire constantly,” he says. But by this time, we know all three of these characters too well. They may see things differently, but they are on the same side. One of the best things going for The Hurt Locker is that we look at war through a lens we hadn’t seen before. Who could have thought that a movie where the main goal was diffusing bombs on the streets in the very country being invaded would have made for enthralling cinema? But absolutely, it did. Rener and Mackie brought such life to two characters who ultimately shared the same vision but contrasted so much in style and personality. Both actors did a great job digging into the most profound nuances of each of their characters that you couldn’t tell if these guys loved each other, hated each other, or just had each other’s backs because they were on the same side of the battlefield.

James isn’t a superhero or even an action hero. He’s a specialist who is designed to do one thing. He defuses bombs. It’s like a heart surgeon. A heart surgeon is likely skilled in many areas of medicine, but you want your heart surgeon to be a specialist because it’s an essential organ in our body. We don’t want our heart surgeon to focus on anything other than being the best she can be. Don’t worry about the liver, lungs, or spleen. Other specialists can do that. Concentrate on the heart. So, while James, a former Army Ranger, can handle a pistol and engage in various other military operations, his job is to defuse bombs. But what happens when an adrenaline rush isn’t releasing enough endorphins? We find a substitute that will allow us to reach that high. This leads to some scenes that might otherwise seem out of place in this movie (and did for me during my first viewing) but made perfect sense. This movie is as much about the need to reach a high through dangerous combat situations as it is about the War in Iraq. Honestly, for a war movie, it’s hard for me to find a movie where we dislike the opponent less. Many Iraqis in the film are friendly, and more than one character, including Will James, befriends a handful of them. Plenty of combat and situations will fill the needs of those needing warfare and battle, which becomes secondary to the characters’ needs and their internal strife.

It is brilliant filmmaking. It has a powerful score. And the cinematography is so fantastic that we feel like we are on the streets of Iraq, sucking in the same dust as our heroes.