The Hurt Locker

2008 Drama

Based on the personal wartime experiences of journalist Mark Boal (who adapted his experiences with a bomb squad into a fact-based, yet fictional story), director Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq War-set action thriller The Hurt Locker presents the conflict in the Middle East from the perspective of those who witnessed the fighting firsthand -- the soldiers. As an elite Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal team tactfully navigates the streets of present-day Iraq, they face the constant threat of death from incoming bombs and sharp-shooting snipers. In Baghdad, roadside bombs are a common danger. The Army is working to make the city a safer place for Americans and Iraqis, so when it comes to dismantling IEDs (improvised explosive devices) the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) crew is always on their game. But protecting the public isn't easy when there's no room for error, and every second spent dismantling a bomb is another second spent flirting with death. Now, as three fearless bomb technicians take on the most dangerous job in Baghdad, it's only a matter of time before one of them gets sent to "the hurt locker." Jeremy Renner, Guy Pearce, and Ralph Fiennes star. more..

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce,Ralph Fiennes

 31 Reviews  60 Awards

Reviews

  • Overwhelmingly tense, overflowing with crackling verisimilitude, it's both the film about the war in Iraq that we've been waiting for and the kind of unqualified triumph that's been long expected from director Kathryn Bigelow.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    27 April 2013

  • The result is an intense, action-driven war pic, a muscular, efficient standout that simultaneously conveys the feeling of combat from within as well as what it looks like on the ground.

    Lisa Schwarzbaum - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • This one enters the pantheon of great American war films.

    Mick LaSalle - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • A first-rate action thriller, a vivid evocation of urban warfare in Iraq, a penetrating study of heroism and a showcase for austere technique, terse writing and a trio of brilliant performances. Most of all, though, it's an instant classic that demonstrates, in a brutally hot and dusty laboratory setting, how the drug of war hooks its victims and why they can't kick the habit.

    Joe Morgenstern - The Wall Street Journal

    27 April 2013

  • Tensely action-packed and muscularly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this tale of an elite U.S. army bomb disposal unit in Baghdad is a familiar story in new clothes, targeted at the young male demographic.

    - The Hollywood Reporter

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • Movie of the Year

    AFI Awards (2010)

  • Best Achievement in Directing

    Academy Awards (2010)

  • Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2010)

     

  • Best Foreign Feature Film (Årets utenlandske kinofilm)

    Amanda Awards, Norway (2010)

     

  • Best Edited Feature Film (Dramatic)

    American Cinema Editors (2010)

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