The Hurt Locker

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.” Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow brings together groundbreaking realistic action and intimate human drama in a landmark film starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty, with cameo appearances by Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly and Guy Pearce.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Cast:

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, Evangeline Lilly, David Morse

Reviews:

Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan

The New York Times, A.O. Scott

San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle

Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert

Washington Post, Ann Hornaday

Washington Times, Sonny Bunch

Baltimore Sun, Michael Sragow