--- title: "The Hurt Locker: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker" critics_score: 87 critics_reviews: 9 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Hurt Locker (2008): what the critics said Critics' score 87 from 9 reviews: 9 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The consensus is strongly positive, with praise centred on Kathryn Bigelow’s control of tension and the close attention to soldiers doing dangerous work. Critics repeatedly single out the bomb-disposal sequences for keeping space and action clear while making the danger feel immediate. Jeremy Renner’s performance also draws praise for conveying the central soldier’s appetite for risk without simplifying him into a conventional hero. Most critics find that the ground-level focus gives the film psychological force without requiring a broader political account of the war. The differences are chiefly about what that narrow focus leaves unexplored, rather than whether the suspense works. The Hollywood Reporter admires the raw tension but finds little depth in the character analysis or moral stance. Eye for Film similarly praises the atmosphere and Renner while finding the story and characterisation thin. These reservations sit within an otherwise enthusiastic response: the disagreement concerns depth, not Bigelow’s command of action. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 8 July 2009. The film is a spellbinding war movie focused on the people in terrible danger rather than phony suspense mechanisms. It earns its real suspense through personalities and clear, intelligent direction that keeps space and action coherent. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-hurt-locker-2009) ## Slant Magazine — Fernando F. Croce Rating 4/4. 22 June 2009. Bigelow delivers a smashing piece of visceral filmmaking that gets closer than others to the tense, ground-level spectacle of bomb disposal in Baghdad. The film excels in its handheld action sequences and character focus while avoiding both recruiting pamphlet and antiwar tract extremes. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-hurt-locker/) ## Film Comment — Amy Taubin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). The critic praises the film as both a structuralist war movie and an immersive high-anxiety experience. Bigelow excels at making viewers feel the adrenaline rush of war through kinetic camerawork and Renner's standout performance as the central bomb disposal expert. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/the-hurt-locker-review/) ## Little White Lies — Kingsley Marshall Rating 3/4/4. 28 August 2009. The critic calls it a commendably mature response to conflict, closer in tone to Generation Kill than other Iraq war films. It singles out the well-paced action sequences and the complex, subjective portrayal of the bomb disposal team. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-hurt-locker) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 25 August 2009. The critic calls it one of the better films about the US Army in Iraq, praising its expert management of tension combined with journalistic attention to detail. It singles out the fine distinction between heroism and heroics and the immersive, realistic depiction of the squad. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-hurt-locker-2) ## Empire — Ian Nathan 29 July 2009. The review lauds the film as a bruising, brilliant masterclass in tension and visceral participation in the bomb-disposal unit's daily hell, highlighting Bigelow's skill at stripping back style for docu-intense realism and Jeremy Renner's standout performance as a war-addicted protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/hurt-locker-review/) ## Sight and Sound — Guy Westwell 1 September 2009. The critic praises Bigelow's confident direction and the film's genuine fascination with bomb-disposal procedures in a combat zone. It highlights the suspenseful set pieces and the film's willingness to confront the adrenaline and pleasure some men find in war without moralizing. [Read the review](http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/review/5082) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 28 August 2009. Kathryn Bigelow delivers the most insightful Iraq war film yet, a blazingly powerful anti-war action movie that focuses on soldiers' experiences rather than political debate. The critic praises its unpretentious clarity, tense vignettes of bomb disposal, and ability to convey the agony and excitement of asymmetric warfare. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/aug/28/the-hurt-locker-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — The Associated Press 3 September 2008. Festival review. The film is tensely action-packed and muscularly directed but doesn't aspire to be the definitive statement on the Iraq war. It offers raw tension in its bomb-disposal sequences but provides little in-depth analysis of its characters or moral stance. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/hurt-locker-125626/) ## The Independent 27 August 2009. The critic hails it as the best film yet to emerge from the Iraq war, praising its intense, ground-level focus on the terror of war and how soldiers cope with extreme pressure rather than broader politics. Bigelow is singled out for masterful tension-building through character-driven scenes and innovative camerawork. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-hurt-locker-1778133.html) ## The New Yorker — David Denby 22 June 2009. Bigelow’s film is the most skillful and emotionally involving picture yet made about the Iraq conflict, narrowing the war to the existential confrontation of man and deadly threat. It is a small classic of tension, bravery, and fear that restores the wholeness of time and space in action filmmaking. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/06/29/anxiety-tests-movie-reviews-hurt-locker-food-inc) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott 26 June 2009. The film is the best nondocumentary American feature yet about the Iraq war and a viscerally exciting, adrenaline-soaked tour de force of suspense. Bigelow distills the psychological essence and moral complications of modern warfare into brilliant, agonizing set pieces. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/movies/26hurt.html) ## Total Film 23 July 2009. The critic calls it the finest film yet made about the Iraq war, commending Bigelow for shifting focus to the soldiers themselves and crafting exhausting, edge-of-seat set pieces that immerse viewers in the battle like few war films since Saving Private Ryan, with special praise for Renner's superb lead turn. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-hurt-locker-3-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B+. 25 June 2009. The critic praises it as a good Iraq War movie that portrays soldiers as complex humans rather than saints, set directly in the action in Iraq. Bigelow's direction creates intense, pulse-pounding tension focused on the bomb disposal unit and Jeremy Renner's standout performance as an adrenaline addict. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-hurt-locker-review/) ## Den of Geek — Luke Savage Rating 4/5. 17 December 2009. The film is called one of the best war movies of recent times for its focus on the psychological effects on soldiers rather than politics. It is bold and brave with thrilling set pieces full of dread, though it loses some atmosphere on DVD. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-hurt-locker-dvd-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 August 2009. Bigelow delivers a gritty, relentless war film with intense visceral impact and memorable images. Renner is likable and effective in exploring the macho egotism and inner conflict of the lead soldier amid the chaos of Iraq. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a169991/the-hurt-locker/) ## Eye for Film — Stephen Carty Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 October 2009. The critic praises it as an impressive thrill-ride focused on the adrenaline and tension of bomb disposal rather than politics or explosions, highlighting the credible atmosphere and Renner's performance, while noting it lacks much story or character depth. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-hurt-locker-film-review-by-stephen-carty) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-hurt-locker.md