2008 (Kathryn Bigelow) 14A, 130 min
Starring: Guy Pearce, Jeremy Renner, Ralph Fiennes

From the intense opening of a bomb defusing gone badly awry, director Kathryn Bigelow sends a clear message to the audience that they’re in for over 2 hours of pressurized, white-knuckle, finger chewing tension. We are embedded in Iraq with a team of bomb defusing experts that’s dealing with the recent loss of a colleague and welcoming his replacement, Sergeant James (Renner), into their unit. James is at best a loose cannon who regards death as a competitor, one he is hell bent to beat. He plows his way toward some of the biggest trouble known, pulling his on-edge, reluctant teammates behind. But as the days wear on, and the missions grow increasingly more perilous, his cocky shield begins to crumble and we witness how even the brave find it hard to cope knowing that there’s a great chance they won't survive. It’s this unrelenting fear, this questioning of the unknown and the unnatural thirst for both that’s at the root of all war films, but with Hurt Locker, it’s acutely concentrated. Bigelow and her talented cast deliver a knife-edged film that’s been hailed as one of the genre’s best.