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Movies / Upcoming / The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker

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The Hurt Locker (2009)

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96 %
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Reviews Counted: 72

Fresh: 69

Rotten:3

Average Rating: 8.2/10

Consensus: A well-acted, intensely shot, action filled war epic, Kathryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker is thus far the best of the recent dramatizations of the Iraq War.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for war violence and language

Genre: Action/Adventure

Theatrical Release:Jun 26, 2009 Limited

Box Office: $370,123

Synopsis: The Hurt Locker is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military’s most unrecognized heroes: the technicians of the bomb squad, who volunteer to challenge the odds and... The Hurt Locker is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military’s most unrecognized heroes: the technicians of the bomb squad, who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives in one of the world’s most dangerous places. Three members of the Army’s elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and each other as they seek out 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, for the margin of error on a war-zone bomb is zero. A thrilling and heart-thumping look at the effects of combat and danger on the human psyche, The Hurt Lockeris based on the first-hand observations of journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq.

Visionary director Kathryn Bigelow brings together groundbreaking realistic action and intimate human drama in a gripping film starring Jeremy Renner (Dahmer, The Assassination of Jesse James), Anthony Mackie (Half Nelson, We Are Marshall) and Brian Geraghty (We Are Marshall, Jarhead), with cameo appearances by Ralph Fiennes (The Reader), David Morse (“John Adams”), Evangeline Lilly (“Lost”) and Guy Pearce (Memento). The Hurt Locker is produced by Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Greg Shapiro and Nicolas Chartier. The screenplay is written by Mark Boal (In the Valley of Elah, story). Barry Ackroyd, BSC (United 93, The Wind That Shakes the Barley) is director of photography. Production designer is Karl Juliusson (K19: The Widowmaker, Breaking the Waves). Editors are Bob Murawski (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3) and Chris Innis. Costume designer is George Little (Jarhead, Crimson Tide). Music is by Academy Award Nominee Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders (3:10 to Yuma), and sound design by Academy Award Nominee Paul N.J. Ottosson (Spider-Man 2, Spider-Man 3).

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. A high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, the job leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a mission.

When Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) 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 for long. 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 esoteric craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad swirls around them, the men struggle to understand and contain their new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour of Iraq, 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 will strike.

With a visual and emotional intensity that makes audiences feel like they have been transported to Iraq¹s dizzying, 24-hour turmoil, The Hurt Locker is both a tense portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism, and a probing look at the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield. --© Summit Entertainment [More]

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly

Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly, David Morse, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Mark Boal
Producer: Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier, Greg Shapiro
Composer: Marco Beltrami, Buck Sanders
Studio: Summit Entertainment

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Reviews for The Hurt Locker

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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"The Hurt Locker" is not only one of the very best films of 2009, it is one of the very best and most exciting war movies of any kind to come along in a long time.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/09/09
Peter Sobczynski
eFilmCritic.com

The Hurt Locker is an extraordinarily uncomfortable movie to watch, not because it is poorly made, but because it places its audience directly in the crosshairs of hell.

Full Review Source: BrandonFibbs.com | comment Comment
07/09/09
Brandon Fibbs
BrandonFibbs.com

Bigelow's handheld camerawork roams like a spotter's eyes, always surveying, always getting another look...

Full Review Source: Seanax.com | comment Comment
07/09/09
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com

Screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow have made a unique film about war.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
07/09/09
Wesley Morris
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Not only one of the year's best films so far, it's also arguably the best feature film made about the Iraq war.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
07/09/09
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

[Kathryn] Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal...have made the first fictional feature about American soldiers in Iraq that doesn't fall apart, or preach to a choir, or turn into a position paper.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
07/09/09
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The Hurt Locker is a spellbinding war film by Kathryn Bigelow, a master of stories about men and women who choose to be in physical danger.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment 2 Comments
07/09/09
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filmmaking simply doesn't get much more riveting than Kathryn Bigelow's incredible The Hurt Locker, a cinematic experience unlike any other that you will have this year.

Full Review Source: HollywoodChicago.com | comment Comment
07/09/09
Brian Tallerico
HollywoodChicago.com

This is Master of Suspense filmmaker crafted by someone who understands the nature of nail-biting thrills.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/09/09
Bill Gibron
PopMatters

If you're looking for ferocious, visceral suspense, Kathryn Bigelow delivers with this graphic, subversive portrait of courage under fire, as adrenaline junkies get high on danger.

Full Review Source: SSG Syndicate | comment Comment
07/07/09
Susan Granger
SSG Syndicate

... a super-smart actioner about men in war that's arguably the best American film of the year.

Full Review Source: MSN Movies | comment Comment
07/07/09
Kathleen Murphy
MSN Movies

As tense and compelling an action drama as you're liable to see all year.

Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | comment Comment
07/06/09
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com

A memorable, must-see movie mission to experience, with enough sticks of dynamite and blocks of C-4 to shatter your equanimity. I can promise that you'll come out of it shaken, but alive.

Full Review Source: Cinema Signals | comment Comment
07/03/09
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

Less impressive as a whole than in its parts, it's still a provocative, well-crafted picture...one of the best films yet made about the Iraq War.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/02/09
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Like a modern day Wages of Fear.

Full Review Source: Can Magazine | comment Comment
07/01/09
Fred Topel
Can Magazine

An affectionate but ambiguous tribute to the career soldier that's free of condescension, cynicism, or jingoism.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
07/01/09
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
06/30/09
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
06/30/09
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Outstanding performances across the board, but I thought Anthony Mackie in particular really, really nailed it.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
06/29/09
Ben Mankiewicz
At the Movies

One of the most authentic and powerfully believable war movies in recent times.

Full Review Source: At the Movies | comment Comment
06/29/09
Ben Lyons
At the Movies
 
 
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Latest News for The Hurt Locker

July 08, 2009: Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
With her latest film, the critically acclaimed war film The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow has earned the best reviews of her career to date. (At 95 percent, The Hurt... More...

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This week at the movies, we've got robots in disguise (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf) and a family in disrepair (My Sister's Keeper,... More...

June 20, 2009: Edinburgh 2009: The Tomato Report – Exam Passes
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