Pops, a military man, was all about war flicks. So, nearly every war movie I’ve seen since has played like recurring sequels to Platoon or Rambo (except for a few, like Three Kings or The Thin Red Line). Violence, confusion, desolation, retaliation, psychological breakdowns: same ol’ shit. The difference back then was we were watching movies about wars that had already ended. With The Hurt Locker (2009), there’s something disconcerting about watching an Iraq war movie while I wait for people I know to return from their tours of duty.

The opening sequence climaxes in single explosion depicted several times over in slow-mo over from different angles. Another episode in the life of an anti-explosives unit, led by some guy who really loves his job, stuck with the unthankful task of detonating IEDs with dudes who don’t love their jobs. All amongst the restless natives. Most of whom are either combative or cowardly, like alot of people whose country is being invaded and occupied. By war flick standards, this is a well-excectued one. The action sequences are on point and the adrenaline is palpable. So is the testosterone. Cat-and-mouse meets Russian Roulette, over and over again. Many tense wire-cutting scenes, snipering, shaky camera movements and utterances of “Roger” later, we’re back to we’re we started. In a meaningless war.

But wars, as much as we’d like to think otherwise, are not meaningless. Except perhaps to those who object to it but can’t articulate why, or those who have tired of objecting. The Hurt Locker “succeeds” because, in an era of fashionable moral ambiguity, it lacks a viewpoint. Like Barack Obama, it doesn’t overly patriotize or criticize, though very subtle traces of both exist throughout. Enough to appeal to both objectors and supporters of the war and possibly equally offend both sides as well. It’s a delicate balance, and as a selling point, this lack of viewpoint is a strength. As a statement on war itself, especially one that’s still going on, it fails. Which doesn’t erase the fact that The Hurt Locker is well-made. It’s just ironic that a movie about courage and risks would have neither.