The Hurt Locker (2009)

This is a solid movie. In the summer of 2004, Sergeant J.T. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie) is part of a Bravo Company team during the Iraq War that is tasked with dismantling or neutralizing homemade bombs, known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). After one of their members is killed, Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) takes over the group. His methods seem reckless, but actually he is the most experienced man for the job. During those tense moments in operation, there is no room for mistakes.

Screenwriter Mark Boal was an embedded journalist. The film was mostly shot in Jordan, near the southern Iraq border. The title refers to injuries from an explosion. The quote in the opening credits comes from the 2002 book War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning written by Chris Hedges. Some Iraqi refugees had roles in the film. American soldiers have complained that the film gives a very inaccurate description of how an operation is performed.