The Hurt Locker (2009)

Cast and Crew

Director

Producer

Screenwriter

Starring

• Jeremy Renner as Staff Sergeant William James
• Anthony Mackie
• Brian Geraghty
• Ralph Fiennes as Contractor Team Leader
• Guy Pearce as Sergeant Matt Thompson
• Evangeline Lilly as Connie James
• David Morse as Colonel Reed

Movie Story

"The Hurt Locker" is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military's unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives doing one of the world's most dangerous jobs. Three members of the Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and one another as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad-in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear-protect and save-but it's anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the psychology of bomb technicians and the effects of risk and danger on the human psyche is a fictional tale inspired by real events by journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. In Iraq, it is soldier vernacular to speak of explosions as sending you to "the hurt locker."

In the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) of Bravo Company are at the volatile center of the war, part of a small counterforce specifically trained to handle the homemade bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that account for more than half of American hostile deaths and have killed thousands of Iraqis. The job, a high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, which soldiers volunteer for, requires a calm intelligence that leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a routine mission.

When Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) cheerfully takes over the team, Sanborn and Eldridge are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in the fog of war, appearances are never reliable. Is James really a swaggering cowboy who lives for peak experiences and the moments when the margin of error is zero - or is he a consummate professional who has honed his craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad threatens to engulf them, the men struggle to understand and contain their mercurial new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour, but with each new mission comes another deadly encounter, and as James blurs the line between bravery and bravado, it seems only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

With a visual and emotional intensity that makes audiences feel like they have been transported to the dizzying, 24-hour turmoil of life in the bomb squad, "The Hurt Locker" is both a gripping portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism, and a layered, probing study of the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield.

Watch Video (6 videos)

Clip 'Cell Phone, Two O'Clock'

Trailer

Movie Stills (51 photos)

Reader's Reviews

--Skilfully done but tooo GQ and in an age where we have SOOO much actual footage from the scene ---rather redundant. BTW --anyone else notice that Hollywood made not s single picture remembering or in any way dealing with the 50th anniversary of the awesome and STILL unfolding Korean War? ---NOT EVEN ONE. $$$trange -isn't it?

posted by gill 12 on Feb 06, 2010 09:56:07

Probably one of the very best war movies! Breathtaking film direction and sound editing-mixing. Sharp, somehow realistic, poetic, but at times a little inaccurate and extreme… even so, I loved it! "War is a drug" and Kathrin Bigelow’s cinematography transcribes that perfectly!

posted by Katerina Mos. on Feb 06, 2010 04:59:59

i thought it would be more intense... still really good, though.

posted by rdog on Jan 22, 2010 07:45:44

just got done watching it about an hour ago..awesome movie a must see for sure! two thumbs up

posted by Marine Kyle on Jan 12, 2010 03:01:51

Get some!!!!!!

posted by SuperSix1 on Dec 16, 2009 02:48:57

Dang, that was an awesome piece of film !Thumbs up!

posted by Hool on Oct 17, 2009 10:16:38

It was by far, the BEST movie i've seen in a long time. greatly put together, well worth the money!

posted by Freezypop987 on Aug 01, 2009 12:08:59

Worse movie ever. Disgraces the men and women who put that bomb suit on.

posted by Bmbsqd on Jul 28, 2009 12:51:51

I agree with the guy below great movie. ISOTF

posted by BOMBSQ on Apr 15, 2009 03:51:19

FN Bad ass movie

posted by JIMWATZ on Apr 15, 2009 03:50:45