The Hurt Locker (2008)

Forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of war, an elite Army bomb squad unit must come together in a city where everyone is a potential enemy and every object could be a deadly bomb.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writer:

Mark Boal

Stars:

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

Won 6 Oscars. Another 89 wins & 57 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Renner	...	Sergeant First Class William James
Anthony Mackie	...	Sergeant JT Sanborn
Brian Geraghty	...	Specialist Owen Eldridge
Guy Pearce	...	Staff Sergeant Matt Thompson
Ralph Fiennes	...	Contractor Team Leader
David Morse	...	Colonel Reed
Evangeline Lilly	...	Connie James
Christian Camargo	...	Colonel John Cambridge
Suhail Aldabbach	...	Black Suit Man (as Suhail Al-Dabbach)
Christopher Sayegh	...	Beckham
Nabil Koni	...	Professor Nabil
Sam Spruell	...	Contractor Charlie
Sam Redford	...	Contractor Jimmy
Feisal Sadoun	...	Contractor Feisal
Barrie Rice	...	Contractor Chris

Storyline

An intense portrayal of elite soldiers who have one of the most dangerous jobs in the world: disarming bombs in the heat of combat. When a new sergeant, James, takes over a highly trained bomb disposal team amidst violent conflict, he surprises his two subordinates, Sanborn and Eldridge, by recklessly plunging them into a deadly game of urban combat. James behaves as if he's indifferent to death. As the men struggle to control their wild new leader, the city explodes into chaos, and James' true character reveals itself in a way that will change each man forever.

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Plot Keywords:

bomb | army | sergeant | soldier | death | 

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Taglines:

War is a drug.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic Turkish

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Vivir al límite

Filming Locations:

Amman, Jordan

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£308,887 (UK) (28 August 2009)

Gross:

$15,700,000 (USA) (5 March 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Voltage Pictures, Grosvenor Park Media, Film Capital Europe Funds (FCEF )

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First dramatic feature film about the Iraq War to win an Academy Award. First post-Vietnam War movie about a modern war to win the Best Picture Academy Award. First war movie to win the Best Picture Academy Award since The English Patient. First war movie to win a Best Director Academy Award since Roman Polanski's The Pianist.

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Goofs

In the scene with the body bomb, the Lieutenant Colonel tells the Iraqis to leave by saying "Ishmee!" The proper term in Iraqi Arabic is "Imshee!"

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Quotes

Sergeant JT Sanborn: Maybe you shouldn't take this down. You know, we get a lot of mortars at night. You know, the plywood on the windows help with the lateral frag coming through. That's why it's up there.
Staff Sergeant William James: Yeah, well, it's not going to stop a mortar round from coming in through the roof, you know. Besides, I like the sunshine.

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, not even a title.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: The Essence of Cleveland (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Fear (Is Big Business)"
Written by Al Jourgensen (as Jourgensen) / Tommy Victor (as Victor) / Ministry
Performed by Ministry
Courtesy of 13th Planet Records, Inc.

User Reviews

A mind-blowing war drama, a must-see!

For some of my friends this was just a solid action movie, nothing else. I watched it yesterday and for me it was much more than just action, this movie was a deeply affecting series of shots that make truly feel the war in Iraq and make you see the sacrifice that's going on out there.

There are a few things that everyone must notice while watching the movie. There is some superb acting present throughout the whole movie, especially by Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie and I wouldn't be surprised to see one or more Oscar nominations for acting. There are also some pretty extreme editing achievements, that even I, an amateur movie-lover, could see. Cinematography and some other technical achievements are stunning as well. As far as technical part of the film goes, this movie is more than successful, it is to be expected that there will be some technical Oscar nominations as well. Writing is simple but that's the way it is and all my congratulations go to Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow for creating such a powerful war-drama that sticks with you even long after watching this film.

I honestly hope that the Academy members won't forget abut this phenomenal movie achievement. I recommend everyone to watch this "tool" that allows us to see what the word WAR really means.

Best regards from Slovenia