Why Is 'Hurt Locker' Such A Hit?

Movies about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been box office bombs until Hurt Locker came along, and taking the Best Picture Oscar certainly will further elevate its popularity.

So the question is why movies such as Green Zone and Taxi to the Dark Side and did so poorly but Hurt Locker has been a hit? My guess is that because it is an action movie without a political message that happens to take place in a war zone and the critics -- and of course Motion Picture Academy voters -- loved it even if Iraq War veterans don't for its many inaccuracies and occasionally dumb plot lines.

Oh, and Hurt Locker was the anti-Avatar and anti-James Cameron film and the Academy, ever behind the times, figured it was time to give a Best Director Oscar to a woman, in this case Cameron ex Kathryn Bigelow.