Oliver Stone Blasts 'Hurt Locker,' 'Zero Dark Thirty' for Showing American Heroism

Director Oliver Stone has a bone to pick with director Kathryn Bigelow.

Stone isn’t showing a professional jealousy streak with Bigelow, who won an Oscar for directing 2008’s The Hurt Locker, but rather reinforcing his brand as an unrelenting critic of his own country.

Stone told the audience at a master class session held at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that Bigelow’s Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty showed the U.S. military in an inappropriately positive light.

Stone criticized both films for their focus on American heroism, but not on the consequences of their intervention. “There’s no moral judgment in that movie [‘The Hurt Locker’]. It bothered me because these Americans just do their job. They could be anywhere. They could be in Texas, they could be in Afghanistan, they could be in Iraq. They’re good at what they do… So, is that the point? You could say with ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ that they did their job. You know? Come on, what kind of job are you doing? What are you doing with your life? You’re invading other countries. You’re hurting other people. You feel good about that?” he questioned.

Zero Dark Thirty told the story of the U.S.’s successful hunt for terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, while The Hurt Locker detailed the lives of American specialists who defuse bombs.