The Hurt Locker

Release Date: June 26, 2009 (NY, LA)
Studio: Summit Entertainment
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Screenwriter: Mark Boal
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce
Genre: Action, Drama
MPAA Rating: R (for war violence and language)
Official Website: TheHurtLocker-movie.com
Review: 8.5/10 rating
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: View here
Production Stills: View here

Plot Summary: "The Hurt Locker" is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of the courage under fire of the military's unrecognized heroes: the technicians of a bomb squad who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives doing one of the world's most dangerous jobs. Three members of the Army's elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and one another as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad—in order to try and make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear—protect and save—but it's anything but easy, as the margin of error when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This thrilling and heart-pounding look at the psychology of bomb technicians and the effects of risk and danger on the human psyche is a fictional tale inspired by real events by journalist and screenwriter Mark Boal, who was embedded with a special bomb unit in Iraq. In Iraq, it is soldier vernacular to speak of explosions as sending you to "the hurt locker."

Acclaimed director Kathryn Bigelow brings together groundbreaking realistic action and intimate human drama in a landmark film starring Jeremy Renner ("Dahmer," "The Assassination of Jesse James"), Anthony Mackie ("Half Nelson," "We Are Marshall") and Brian Geraghty ("We Are Marshall," "Jarhead"), with cameo appearances by Ralph Fiennes ("The Reader"), David Morse ("John Adams"), Evangeline Lilly ("Lost") and Guy Pearce ("Memento"). "The Hurt Locker" is produced by Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Greg Shapiro and Nicolas Chartier. The screenplay is written by Mark Boal ("In the Valley of Elah"). Barry Ackroyd, BSC ("United 93," "The Wind That Shakes the Barley") is director of photography. Production designer is Karl Juliusson ("K19: The Widowmaker," "Breaking the Waves"). Editors are Bob Murawski ("Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3") and Chris Innis. Costume designer is George Little ("Jarhead," "Crimson Tide"). Music is by Academy Award Nominee Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders ("3:10 to Yuma"), and sound design by Academy Award Nominee Paul N.J. Ottosson ("Spider-Man 2," "Spider-Man 3").

In the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) of Bravo Company are at the volatile center of the war, part of a small counterforce specifically trained to handle the homemade bombs, or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), that account for more than half of American hostile deaths and have killed thousands of Iraqis. The job, a high-pressure, high-stakes assignment, which soldiers volunteer for, requires a calm intelligence that leaves no room for mistakes, as they learn when they lose their team leader on a routine mission.

When Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) cheerfully takes over the team, Sanborn and Eldridge are shocked by what seems like his reckless disregard for military protocol and basic safety measures. And yet, in the fog of war, appearances are never reliable. Is James really a swaggering cowboy who lives for peak experiences and the moments when the margin of error is zero – or is he a consummate professional who has honed his craft to high-wire precision? As the fiery chaos of Baghdad threatens to engulf them, the men struggle to understand and contain their mercurial new leader long enough for them to make it home. They have only 38 days left in their tour, but with each new mission comes another deadly encounter, and as James blurs the line between bravery and bravado, it seems only a matter of time before disaster strikes.

With a visual and emotional intensity that makes audiences feel like they have been transported to the dizzying, 24-hour turmoil of life in the bomb squad, "The Hurt Locker" is both a gripping portrayal of real-life sacrifice and heroism, and a layered, probing study of the soul-numbing rigors and potent allure of the modern battlefield.

Trailer (4.15.09):
QuickTime/Flash Player, Various

International Trailer (1.7.09):
QuickTime
Windows Media Player

Restricted Clip (6.15.09):
QuickTime/Windows Media Player/Flash Player, Various

9 Clips (6.25.09):
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Exclusive Video Interviews (6.22.09):
Flash Player

Opening Scene (7.8.09):
Flash Player

COMMENTS (30)

Posted by:

Lunchbox

September 7, 2008

It's Explosive Ordnance Disposal! There is no "i" in Ordnance unless it is a local law! There is also, NO such thing as an "Elite" army EOD unit either!! Have a nice day millenium soldiers.

Posted by:

Krystyne

September 15, 2008

I cannot wait for this movie. Jeremy Renner is amazing! They need to hurry up and put out a trailer.

Posted by:

Mike

December 5, 2008

Hey toolbox, I mean Lunchbox. Stick with the play ground. Just because you are not in one of the Elite units doesn't mean they don't exist!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by:

EODWife

December 11, 2008

The way I see it, all Exposive Ordnance Disposal teams are elite... I hope this movie does EOD justice.

Posted by:

Joe

January 8, 2009

summit entertainment is gettin' some female directors chances to kick ass! Catherine Hardwicke and now Bigelow's back! Awesome!

Posted by:

Steve

January 8, 2009

EOD 99% of the time never even get withen 5 feet of a ied. They use robots and c4 and somtimes a vechile. I served with one of the most elite EOD sergents and the most ied he messed was 354 so this guy saying 800 plus is a load of crap.

Posted by:

King Ralph

January 8, 2009

Hey Steve that wasn't an interview from cnn you just watched it was a trailer for an action movie . MOVIE

Posted by:

John L.

January 10, 2009

Looking forward to this one!!

Posted by:

Bombtek

January 18, 2009

truthfully who ****ing cares about the storyline? It's a movie dedicated to EOD and insted of bashing it you should be happy they gave us recognition. The old EOD days are over, and it sucks, but move on. This movie is dedicated to the guys that put in some hard **** in and rough war. I am in iraq right now serving as an EOD tech...and I am damn excited to see this ****ing movie. And if you wanna bash it for being a false image of our job then next time they ask for someone to give them a story step up and tell about how your war went!
"Initial Success of total failure"

Posted by:

Iwastherewherewereyou

January 18, 2009

Hey Steve, what are are you engineer wanna be-- were you in Iraq, I bet you you were in Baghdad hanging out at the taco bell, half of you people don't even leave the base, I've done over 1000 IEDs, wore a bomb suit twice and I just completed almost 4 years in Iraq, I've been here since the beginning, so like I said Where were you?

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