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Friday 26 April 2013

Dissent: The Hurt Locker




I've had a few people talk to me about my Hurt Locker post. Opinions were 50/50 to be honest with you. No one felt the film was as bad as I claimed it was, but not necessary as good as the praise it got when it came out. 

One of my Twitter friends (and yes, I'm one of those people who consider some followers friends), Ben Amponsah, took offense to the post:
"What tosh! As an ex Army man I can comprehensively demolish your theory that it doesn't capture the feel. I was a Demolition, and Officer too and I can honestly say that it does capture a lot of the tensions and mental chicanery necessary for the job! "I do like some of what you post but you are on very dangerous territory when you trash a war film for being inauthentic when you yourself have no military experience whatsoever."

I totally take Ben's point here. I readily say that I am a coward - a coward that respects the sacrifices military personnel make. Ben isn't the first person with combat experience that has told me that the film hits too close to home - members of my own family, that are still serving, have told me similar things about the film.

But, my critique of The Hurt Locker being inauthentic isn't original. Where I was just basing this view on gut instinct, this view has also been expressed by war veterans here, here and here. But, again, this doesn't detract from Ben's wider point. 

He's lived it. He's walked the walk. And I haven't.