Iraq, Post-Invasion

The movie's yellow- and orange-heavy cinematography really helps create the sense that the characters are slogging through some seriously scorching conditions. And hey, they're in Baghdad, so that makes sense, right?

Between the bleached-out visuals, the fact that we know these guys are in Iraq, and the heavy gear (including the bomb suit) that the troops have to wear, we can almost feel the heat ourselves. In the initial scene, we hear Thompson panting his way toward the bomb, which is an early indicator of just how uncomfortable it must be for the EOD team. He even comments, "Nice and hot in here."

Oh, and then there's the dryness. Again, obviously, we can guess it's dry—Iraq has a whole lot of desert. However, we get a few reminders of just how dry it is throughout the film. For example, in the very first scene, Sanborn and Eldridge are cracking jokes about it:

ELDRIDGE: Hey, Sanborn, you know what this place needs?

SANBORN: I'm listening.

ELDRIDGE: Needs grass.

SANBORN: We gonna start our grass business?

ELDRIDGE: That's right, man. I'm going to sell the grass, and you're going to cut it. It's going to be called Sanborn and Sons. We'll be rich.

Of course, the big joke is that it's kind of tough to grow grass in Iraq. So, while the market is wide open, the guys might not, um, be super successful.

Then, there's also that long sequence outside of the city, in which the guys are huddled behind a sand dune trying to take out some enemy dudes who are shooting at them. Based on the sand collecting on the characters' mouths and their desperation for a Capri Sun juice bag, we can guess that it must be pretty sweltering and dry out there.

Why does this all matter? Well, when you're trying to portray the challenges of war, it doesn't hurt to drive home the unpleasantness of the conditions that troops often fight in. Imagine if, in addition to tackling the constant threat of violence and death, you also had to battle heatstroke and intense dehydration...just to do your job. Bigelow has you constantly thinking about all of the above.