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THE HURT LOCKERMovie Reviews
Portrait of the courage under fire of a bomb squad in Iraq who volunteer to challenge the odds and save lives. Cast:Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David MorseDirector:Kathryn BigelowRelease Date:June 26, 2009DVD Release:January 12, 2010From:Summit EntertainmentRating:RLength:2 hr. 11 min.
The Hurt Locker played to exceptional reviews. • Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "...blows every other Iraq war movie off the screen." • And Leah Rozen wrote in People, "...deserves to be seen, both because of the you-are-there vividness and its probing look at the different ways war affects the psyches of the men fighting it." More Reviews Below...
The Hurt Locker Positive Reviews (45 Reviews, reviews below)
Leah Rozen, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...deserves to be seen, both because of the you-are-there vividness and its probing look at the different ways war affects the psyches of the men fighting it."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 166 words, 07/02/09
Richard Corliss, Time: OUTSTANDING "...you'll never get closer to the on-the-ground immediacy of the Iraq occupation, its sick tension, its toxic tang. This is one of the great war films..."(See all of Richard Corliss's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 970 words, 06/26/09
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...intense... a muscular, efficient standout that simultaneously conveys the feeling of combat from within as well as what it looks like on the ground."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 298 words, 06/19/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...by far the most effective film yet on this subject... Its insights and reach extend far beyond what's happened there over the past several years."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 584 words, 06/25/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...captures the complexities of the war in Iraq with visceral suspense as well as explosive battle sequences and powerful performances."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 06/26/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (12 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a tour de force of suspense and surprise... blows a hole in the condescending assumption that such effects are just empty spectacle or mindless noise."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,213 words, 06/26/09
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...we see war as soldiers do, in all its brutal, romantic, senseless, predictable, terrifying, and even addictive ways.... one of the defining films of the decade."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 378 words, 06/26/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...spellbinding... a great film, an intelligent film, a film shot clearly so that we know exactly who everybody is and where they are and what they're doing and why."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 973 words, 07/09/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...both the film about the war in Iraq that we've been waiting for and the kind of unqualified triumph that's been long expected from director Kathryn Bigelow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 06/26/09
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...feels like a documentary that happens to be fictional.... It's fiercely effective. Time will tell if the film is a classic, but right here, right now, it's a formidable experience."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 877 words, 07/10/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a documentary approach that makes for a physical, pulse-spiking experience.... 'The Hurt Locker' leaves an impression. It practically leaves a bruise."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 197 words, 07/10/09
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...may be the only film made about Iraq that gives us a true sense of what it feels like to be on the front lines of a war fought not in jungles but in cities..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 858 words, 06/24/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Bigelow misses an opportunity for a perfect blackout in favour of a less ambiguous ending. But this is still the best movie she's made in two decades..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 07/09/09
KEY CITIES (16 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "In the hands of a filmmaker working at the height of her powers, interminable boredom and stark terror can be a potent cocktail, indeed."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,117 words, 07/10/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Renner is fantastic, bringing many facets to James beyond just the wild man hurtling through a ridiculously difficult assignment."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 600 words, 07/10/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...goes to the core of human nature. The violence, the bravery, the insanity, the predatory instincts and instinct for survival - they're all here..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 07/10/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a unique film about war. Other movies have looked and felt the way this one does... But 'The Hurt Locker' suppresses the politics of war..."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,042 words, 07/10/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...doesn't glorify war or preach pacifism. Instead, it takes us inside the heads of three increasingly stressed-out soldiers..."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 680 words, 07/10/09
Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...unusual script is structured, in large part, as a relentlessly tense drama, a string of missions punctuated by James' and Sanborn's downtime restlessness."(See all of Tom Keogh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 455 words, 07/10/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Bigelow refuses to dial down the intensity. Nearly every dancing-with-death scene hurtles into another sweaty, breathless race to dismantle before the booms."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 486 words, 07/24/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: EXCELLENT(cg) "...episodic and, at times, overwrought. And occasionally its deliberate opacity becomes too cloudy. But the things that shine through are remarkable."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 07/10/09
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: EXCELLENT(cg) "...a rare examination of combat as an addiction.... like many wars; a nerve-wracking experience without solid answers for the core question of why we're there."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 437 words, 07/30/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: EXCELLENT(cg) "...from journalist-turned-screenwriter Mark Boal ('In the Valley of Elah')... the first Iraq War movie to qualify as more first-rate entertainment than sermon."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 424 words, 07/24/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Like every war before it, the U.S. invasion of Iraq has generated its share of movies. But 'The Hurt Locker' is the first of them that can properly be called a masterpiece."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 736 words, 07/24/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Watching it, you feel you're in the presence of art completely of the moment and also aesthetically new. This film pioneers observational action moviemaking."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 880 words, 07/24/09
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...miserably visceral exists here not as exploitation but out of the demands of authenticity. And the film counters many of our movie-trained expectations."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 658 words, 07/10/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Scott Foundas, Village Voice/LA Weekly: OUTSTANDING "...may be the only film made about Iraq that gives us a true sense of what it feels like to be on the front lines of a war fought not in jungles but in cities..."(See all of Scott Foundas's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 858 words, 06/24/09
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...working from a strong script by embedded journalist Mark Boal, gets right down to business... a combustible drama that shakes you in ways you don't see coming."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 169 words, 07/10/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...in a few harrowing and poetic scenes, evokes all the tragedy and absurdity of the war.... the first genuine work of art to emerge from the Iraq debacle."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 630 words, 07/09/09
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Bigelow misses an opportunity for a perfect blackout in favour of a less ambiguous ending. But this is still the best movie she's made in two decades..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 07/09/09
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: OUTSTANDING "Even if you think you've had your fill of Iraq stories, this is one of the worthiest -- ironically because the particularity of the conflict is little more than a footnote."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 592 words, 07/09/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a tour de force of suspense and surprise... blows a hole in the condescending assumption that such effects are just empty spectacle or mindless noise."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,213 words, 06/26/09
David Denby, New Yorker: OUTSTANDING "...the most skillful and emotionally involving picture yet made about the Iraq conflict.... narrows the war to the existential confrontation of man and deadly threat."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,157 words, 06/22/09
David Edelstein, NPR Fresh Air: OUTSTANDING "...so deep inside these soldiers' testosterone-soaked psyches that the question of 'Why?' has no meaning. Sensation is all -- and this is, in all senses, a sensational film."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 656 seconds, 06/26/09
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...both the film about the war in Iraq that we've been waiting for and the kind of unqualified triumph that's been long expected from director Kathryn Bigelow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 06/26/09
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Derek Elley, Daily Variety: MODERATE "Often gripping at a straight thriller level, but increasingly weakened by its fuzzy (and hardly original) psychology... doesn't bring anything new to the table..."(See all of Derek Elley's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,045 words, 09/05/08
Deborah Young, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "Tensely action-packed and muscularly directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this tale of an elite U.S. army bomb disposal unit in Baghdad is a familiar story in new clothes..."(See all of Deborah Young's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 590 words, 09/04/08
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: OUTSTANDING "...both the film about the war in Iraq that we've been waiting for and the kind of unqualified triumph that's been long expected from director Kathryn Bigelow."(See all of Kenneth Turan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,162 words, 06/26/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: OUTSTANDING "...a tour de force of suspense and surprise... blows a hole in the condescending assumption that such effects are just empty spectacle or mindless noise."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,213 words, 06/26/09
11.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Hurt Locker's reviews are separated by an average 11.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Hurt Locker (45 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Hurt Locker's reviews cover 89.2% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 29,028 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 645 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Hurt Locker's reviews on average broke 3 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Hurt Locker's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Hurt Locker (45 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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