The Hurt Locker/YMMV


 * Critical Dissonance: The movie is considered to be a realistic war movie by many critics, but not so much by the audience. Indeed, most former and current military personnel that have seen it, especially Iraq vets, complain of lack of realism. However, despite the obvious liberties taken with EOD policy, the movie captured the emotional experience of fighting in Iraq like no other.
 * Crowning Music of Awesome: Three of Ministry's songs were used in the film, but "Khyber Pass" certainly qualifies as the backdrop for the last scene
 * Do Not Do This Cool Thing: Notably averted. A majority of the action scenes consist solely of bomb disposal, while even the more action-packed incidents eschew the usual adrenaline-pumping music and fierce firefights for near-silent scenes spent aiming weapons at enemies that may or may not be there. The only time insurgents are fully visible is during the opening - everywhere else, they're either blended in with the crowd or shrouded in darkness.
 * It's Popular, Now It Sucks: Its Oscar buzz brought it to a wider audience; which displeased many of its original fans.
 * Fan Dumb / Hate Dumb: Quite a few of the fandom were repeatedly praising The Hurt Locker and Bigalow for making a "Tropeless Tale" (and ignoring its flaws) while picking apart the flaws of Avatar with no mercy. Ironically soon after the Oscars, many of these same fans began to trash and pick apart The Hurt Locker for all its worth, proving their worth as "True Movie Fans".
 * Hell Is That Noise: A bizarre musical chord is used to enhance the Oh Crap moment when James discovers that the spare wire he found.
 * Internet Backdraft: Debates on how accurate the movie was tend to spark some heated debates to say the least. Not to mention that a discussion on if The Hurt Locker really deserved Best Picture and if Avatar was snubbed by the Oscars will spark a big one.
 * Moral Event Horizon: You never see the antagonists in this film, but any sympathy the audience might have for their cause disappears when they, if not before.
 * And then crossed a second time when
 * Nightmare Fuel:
 * Tear Jerker: Obviously, many moments in the film.
 * They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: James' failure to could be seen as this, but it's purposefully done for an exercise in futility.
 * Vindicated by History: Summit only went to 500 theaters at it widest and the film grossed just $17 million in theaters (due to the studio having higher hopes for eventual flops such as Bandslam and Sorority Row). However due to positive word of mouth, the film became a huge hit on DVD. And it won some Oscars as well, including winning 3 of the main awards, Best Picture, Best Director & Best Original Screenplay, along with a nomination for Best Actor.
 * The Woobie: Eldridge.