Gritty War Drama

Rating: 8/10 (11 June 2012)

The setting is Iraq in 2004. Sergeant William James is the new leader of the bomb squad. He replaces Sergeant Matthew Thompson, who has been killed by a remote controlled IED. James is a bit of a cowboy, and he is considered dangerous for his risk taking approach to the job. While driving in their Humvee, they stop at a point where a Ford Excursion is pulled over with a flat tire. Although dressed in Arab clothing, the occupants turn out to be British mercenaries with two captured enemy with bounties on them. They come under fire and kill the four snipers after three of the mercenaries are killed.
At a warehouse, James finds the body of a boy with a surgically implanted bomb. He recognizes him as the kid who was earlier selling the soldiers bootleg Dvds. As they leave, the platoons psychiatrist is killed in an explosion. James looks for payback, and breaks into an Iraqi professor's house, but finds nothing. He then comes upon a tanker explosion, and looks for the insurgents by himself. He meets up with Eldridge, a fellow soldier who is shot in the leg during another ambush.
The climax occurs during their last two days when an Iraqi civilian walks down the street with bombs strapped to his body. James must remove the locks one by one in order to save the man's life. Director Kathryn Bigelow uses mostly hand held shots with fast editing to give The Hurt Locker the look of a documentary. It is very realistic, and Jeremy Renner and his supporting cast are excellent.