Bigelow’s camera is impartial and dispassionate, but explosively powerful and unflinching. There is no commentary or judgment, just war and fatigue.
Comment
07/23/09
The Hurt Locker (2009)
98
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:166
Fresh:163
Rotten:3
Average Rating:8.4/10
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.
Theatrical Release:Jun 26, 2009 Limited
Box Office: $12,402,612
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... [More]
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Bryan Geraghty, Evangeline Lilly
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
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Reviews for The Hurt Locker
Extremely good whenever characters keep their mouths shut; when there's dialogue, it's usually heavy-handed and leading.
07/22/09
There's a definite absence of Hollywood gloss in Bigelow's film, which was appreciated.
07/22/09
This beyond-the-headlines war movie, a 'ticking clock' thriller from journalist-turned-screenwriter Mark Boal, is the first Iraq War movie to qualify as more first-rate entertainment than sermon.
07/22/09
What makes Hurt Locker truly great is that it's most interested in telling us an honest story about these soldiers and this war, without servicing any type of political agenda.
07/21/09
Some scenes in 'The Hurt Locker' are as memorable and iconic as those in 'Apocalypse Now.'
07/18/09
Finally, a film that shows the true face of our enemy in the war on terror from a pro-American perspective.
07/17/09
Kathryn Bigelow's films have ranged from Near Dark (1987) to near-disaster, but here, for the first time, she forges her mastery of detail, composition, pacing, psychological insight, and perverse beauty into a masterpiece.
07/16/09
I found it difficult at times to remember that these men are actors. The tension is pulled to just the right tautness to be sustained over time without having to defuse it with a narrative break. And the acting is great.
07/16/09
In one sense, The Hurt Locker is an old school war film %u2013 muscular, focused almost exclusively on men in combat, and not interested in politics or making a statement. But the film's also very contemporary.
07/16/09
It is a tremendous film that needs to be seen, and not just by the testosterone crowd.
07/15/09
One of the most compelling motion pictures in years, certainly among the best war films ever put on film.
07/15/09
Bigelow's direction is confident -- the action sequences are tense and suspenseful, so much so that The Hurt Locker also works as a straight-up war film.
07/15/09
First female best director Oscar right here.
07/13/09
Even if you think you've had your fill of Iraq stories, this is one of the worthiest -- ironically because the particularity of the conflict is little more than a footnote.
07/11/09
As emotionally involving an action movie as you're likely to find this year (much less this summer), 'The Hurt Locker' is also a tense, forceful meditation on the addictive nature of combat.
07/10/09
This isn't just a lacerating drama about the wages of war on a soldier's soul, but also the most exhilarating, sweat-inducing action film of the year thus far.
07/10/09
The miserably visceral exists here not as exploitation but out of the demands of authenticity.
07/10/09
The Hurt Locker is episodic and, at times, overwrought. And occasionally its deliberate opacity becomes too cloudy. But the things that shine through are remarkable.
07/10/09
It's the best war movie since Full Metal Jacket.
07/10/09
Latest News for The Hurt Locker
December 01, 2009:
The Hurt Locker Wins Big at Gotham Awards 
"The Hurt Locker" was the big winner at the Gotham Independent Film Awards on Monday, taking home awards for best feature and ensemble cast. "Food, Inc." won the documentary... More...
November 29, 2009:
Satellite Awards Nominees Announced
Signaling that the awards season is about to begin, the International Press Academy has announced the nominees for its 14th annual Satellite Awards. More...
August 03, 2009:
Could Jeremy Renner Be the Next Mad Max?
According to Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker"), the next "Mad Max" movie could roll next summer -- and he's "fighting" for a chance to star. More...
July 22, 2009:
Inside The Hurt Locker with Writer Mark Boal
After spending time in 2004 as an embedded journalist in Iraq, Playboy writer Mark Boal turned his experiences and observations into a fictionalized character study of three... More...
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