The Hurt Locker

2009 • 130 minutes

About this movie

War is a drug. Nobody knows that better than Staff Sergeant James, head of elite squad of soldiers tasked with disarming bombs in the heat of combat. To do this nerve-shredding job, it's not enough to be the best: you have to thrive in a zone where the margin of error is zero, think as diabolically as a bomb-maker, and somehow survive with your body and soul intact. Powerfully realistic, action-packed, unrelenting and intense, The Hurt Locker has been hailed by critics as "an adrenaline-soaked tour de force" (A.O. Scott, The New York Times) and "one of the great war movies." (Richard Corliss, Time)

Ratings and reviews

Amazing attention to detail in the equipment and general environment, but seemingly devoted to the idea that every vet is a dangerous timebomb of barely restrained trauma that we express via cowboy bullshit and endangering our fellow service members, with absolutely no one in charge to say "y'know, Sgt Smith may need to go talk to a counselor or something.". You want a vastly more accurate picture of modern military life that doesn't sugarcoat the bad parts, check out Generation Kill instead.

I am a former EOD tech who has been there. Movie is a little over they top and not so far off at the same time. I've spent years trying to explain to people what it feels like and the scene at the end when he's in the store says it all. You feel useless unless your doing your job. That's ask there is.

Somewhat entertaining. The most realistic scene was the first 5 minutes, where Guy Pearce dies *spoiler * (oops); that's how Soldiers really talk. I've come to the conclusion that Kathryn Bigalow believes that everyone in the military operates on a purely egotistical level.