The Hurt Locker (2008)

During the Iraq War, a Sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writer:

Mark Boal

Stars:

Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty

Won 6 Oscars. Another 117 wins & 126 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeremy Renner	...	Staff Sergeant William James
Anthony Mackie	...	Sergeant JT Sanborn
Brian Geraghty	...	Specialist Owen Eldridge
Guy Pearce	...	Sergeant Matt Thompson
Ralph Fiennes	...	Contractor Team Leader
David Morse	...	Colonel Reed
Evangeline Lilly	...	Connie James
Christian Camargo	...	Colonel John Cambridge
Suhail Dabbach	...	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, behaving 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:

iraq | imperialism | yankee go home | bomb | dangerous job | 

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Taglines:

Cut the red wire.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for war violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

31 July 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Vivir al límite

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$145,352, 28 June 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$17,017,811, 12 May 2015

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,230,772, 12 May 2015

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

Jeremy Renner tripped and fell down some stairs while carrying an Iraqi boy on the film's set. Shooting was stopped for several days while Renner's ankle healed.

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Goofs

The three Ministry songs played in this movie were from the album Rio Grande Blood, which was released in 2006. The movie is set in 2004.

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Quotes

Guard at Liberty Gate: [after catching James coming back into the camp after having snuck out] What the fuck are you doing?
Staff Sergeant William James: I was in a whorehouse.
Guard at Liberty Gate: All right. If I let you in, will you tell me where it is exactly?

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits, not even a title.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: The Town/I'm Still Here/Easy A (2010)

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Soundtracks

Your Smiling Face
Written by Gerhard Narholz (as Norman Candler)
Performed by The Norman Candler Strings
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

The work of a master filmmaker

The Hurt Locker is a serious character study and a taut, suspenseful action thriller at once.

The subject matter itself - the work of a bomb expert, possibly one of the most nerve-racking jobs on the planet - yields most of the suspense but Bigelow manages to squeeze out every bit of tension of the premise.

This film to me was very apolitical - though set in Iraq, it is distinguished from most of the Iraq-themed war films in that it concentrates much more on the job itself than the political environment. Iraq seemed more like a backdrop - any other war would do, The Hurt Locker does not preach about this one specifically.

The story is deeply emotional, depicting a thoroughly disturbed individual's life in hell. Jeremy Renner gives an incredibly powerful performance as an EOD officer completely hooked on adrenaline stemming from his everyday close shaves with death.

All aspects of film-making are top-notch, from the brilliantly subversive screenplay through vivid cinematography, masterful directing and perfectly paced editing.

In its storytelling the filmmakers wisely break with traditional Hollywood narrative techniques. There is no clear antagonist, no rising action, no obvious character development and no climax. And yet the film manages to be more interesting, tense and suspenseful than any Hollywood action thriller I've seen in years while making a powerful, yet subtle statement about the insane addiction that is war. Kudos for everyone involved for making this film without compromising.

This is pure quality, cinematic storytelling at its best, a thinking man's actioner.