The Hurt Locker

Set in Baghdad in 2004, Bigelow's unconventional Iraq war film offers disorienting anxiety and fear centering on a three-man Army bomb-disposal unit. Staff Sgt. William James (Renner, in an effortlessly breakout performance) arrives to take the place of his deceased predecessor with 38 days left in the unit's rotation. Vulnerable Specialist Owen Eldridge (Geraghty) and by-the-book professional Sgt. J.T. Sanborn (Mackie) aren't sure they'll make it since the new guy is a wild card--an adrenaline cowboy consumed by his work. There's mutual distrust between the American occupiers and Iraqi citizens, but Bigelow isn't interested in the rights or wrongs of the conflict itself as much as the small, sometimes terrifying moments. Military "experts" can squawk all they want about technical accuracy (this is hardly the first war film to take artistic liberties), but the film succeeds in providing 'twisting your guts' tension. Based on screenwriter Boal's embedded reports from his time in Baghdad.