In an attempt to make a film about the war in Iraq that succeeds both artistically and commercially, Hollywood has tried to approach the subject matter from just about every angle imaginable. Time after time, however, Americans have stayed away from the multiplex, effectively telling filmmakers that they feel like it’s too soon to view the war through the lens of entertainment. Which goes a long way to explaining why Kathryn Bigelow’s acclaimed film, The Hurt Locker, has been quietly sitting on the shelf since it first debuted to strong reviews at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. Our ears perked up about the film’s prospects when Jeffrey Wells raved that watching it was like “having your heart operated on by a construction worker wielding a power pneumatic nail-driver.†And though Summit Entertainment seems to be too distracted meddling with Twilight 2 to pen in a solid release date for the flick, the film’s trailer just made its debut online. Starring Jeremy Renner (who you’ll remember from 28 Weeks Later) as a bomb-defusing soldier and featuring cameos from the likes of Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes, it has every indication of being a crackerjack of an action film. Which doesn’t surprise us, considering Bigelow has always had a knack for creating visceral cinematic experiences (think Point Break, think the opening scene from Strange Days). See for yourself after the jump.
Trailer: The Hurt Locker [Nuke The Fridge]