The Hurt Locker

2008 film directed by Kathryn Bigelow

The Hurt Locker is 2008 American war thriller movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Christian Camargo, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, and Guy Pearce. The movie is set in the Iraq War and is about an Explosive Ordnance Disposal team. The movie was a major critical success. Many critics consider it the best movie of 2009 and one of the best films of the 2000s.[2][3] The movie is part of the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress.[4]

The Hurt Locker
Directed byKathryn Bigelow
Written byMark Boal
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBarry Ackroyd
Edited by
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed bySummit Entertainment
Release dates
Running time
131 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million[1]
Box office$49.2 million[1]

It is the year 2004 during the Iraq War. Sergeant First Class William James replaces Matthew Thompson, who died from an improvised explosive device (IED). William leads an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team to disarm bombs and explosives. Sergeant J. T. Sanborn and Specialist Owen Eldridge are also on the team. There are 38 days left on their job to disarm bombs.

James becomes friends with an Iraqi child called Beckham, who sells him DVDs. The other team members think that William is reckless with the bombs. Once, James goes back for his gloves near the bomb. Tension develops. Sanborn considers killing William with the explosives. The team meets British mercenaries and private military contractors. They have two prisoners. Together they are attacked. The prisoners try to escape but are shot.

At a warehouse, William finds a body of a boy. There is a bomb in the body. He thinks it is Beckham. The team evacuates the warehouse, but Lieutenant Colonel John Cambridge dies in an explosion. He is a psychiatrist and friend of Eldridge. James tries to find the one responsible for the boy's death. His team splits up, and Eldridge is captured. Eldridge is rescued but shot in the leg. The next day, James meets Beckham but does not talk. Eldridge is taken to surgery and blames James. James and Sanborn have to disarm a bomb on a man two days later. James cannot rescue the man, and the man explodes with the bomb. Sanborn says he cannot stand it anymore and wants to go home to his family.

After the end of their rotation, James returns to his ex-wife Connie and his son. He is bored and prefers to disarm bombs. He starts another line of duty that is now 365 days.

Reception

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The movie had very positive reviews.[5][6][7] It has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the movie to the gripping, intense and full of suspense. Roger Ebert rated it the best film of 2009 and second best movie of the decade.[8] It made the top ten lists of many movie critics.[9] Critics praised Jeremy Renner for his acting and Kathryn Bigelow as director.[10] Veterans criticized that the movie was inaccurate in portraying the Army.[11] The movie had nine nominations at the 82nd Academy Awards. It won the following six: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing[12]. The Hurt Locker was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards. Kathryn Bigelow won several awards for directing including a BAFTA Award, Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Director, and Best Director Award from Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and New York' film critics groups.

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 "The Hurt Locker (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  2. criticstop10. "Best Movies of 2009". CriticsTop10. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. Corliss, Richard (May 15, 2012). "The Hurt Locker, 2009 | The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium (Thus Far)". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  4. "Complete National Film Registry Listing | Film Registry | National Film Preservation Board | Programs | Library of Congress". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  5. Scott, A. O. (June 25, 2009). "Soldiers on a Live Wire Between Peril and Protocol". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  6. "BFI | Sight & Sound | Film review: The Hurt Locker (2008)". web.archive.org. March 10, 2010. Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. Morgenstern, Joe (June 25, 2009). "'Locker': Shock, Awe, Brilliance". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  8. "The best films of the decade - Roger Ebert's Journal". web.archive.org. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  9. "Metacritic: 2009 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". web.archive.org. February 11, 2010. Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. Turan, Kenneth (June 26, 2009). "Deep into the kill zone". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  11. "The Hurt Locker Doesn't Get This Vet's Vote". HuffPost. April 6, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  12. "82nd Academy Awards Winners | Oscar Legacy | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences". web.archive.org. October 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)