Iraq, Afghanistan war veterans blast movie "Hurt Locker" as inaccurate

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, says the movie got "nine more Oscar nominations than it deserves. I don't know why critics love this silly, inaccurate film so much," he wrote on his Facebook page.

Many in the U.S. military say "Hurt Locker" is full off unforgivable inaccuracies that turns the most critically acclaimed Iraq war film into a Hollywood fantasy.

Rieckhoff, a self-identified Army Airborne Ranger, writes on his Facebook page:

"[I]f this movie was based on a war that never existed, I would have nothing to comment about. This movie is not based on a true story, but on a true war, a war in which I have seen my friends killed, a war in which I witnessed my ranger buddy get both his legs blown off. So for Hollywood to glorify this crap is a huge slap in the face to every soldier who's been on the front line."

In an interview, Rieckhoff said the worst thing about "Hurt Locker" is the depiction of the main character, Sgt. 1st Class William James.

The Washington Post describes the main characters as a reckless rogue:

"Portrayed by Jeremy Renner, who's nominated for Best Actor, James is a daredevil who in one scene takes off his protective armor while disarming a bomb because, as he says, "If I'm going to die, I'm going to be comfortable." He runs alone through the streets of Baghdad with his sweat shirt hood up like a gangster. Later, he takes two soldiers hunting for insurgents in Baghdad's back alleys without any backup.

James's fellow soldiers are, or try to be, by-the-book professionals. They call James "rowdy" and "reckless," and one worries out loud that his leader's crazy antics are "going to get me killed." James is as much cowboy as soldier, and vets fear he could become an iconic figure in the American imagination should the movie win a bunch of statues."

"Films, almost more than anything, will be the way Americans understand our war," Rieckhoff said. "So we feel that there is a responsibility for filmmakers to portray our war accurately. We see ourselves as watchdogs. . . . When he puts a hood on like Eminem and starts roving outside the wire, it's ridiculous."