Three bomb disposal techs in Iraq are the subject of The Hurt Locker: Sgt James (Jeremy Renner), Sgt Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Spec Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). James has grown addicted to war and he is reckless and cavalier about disarming bombs, while Sanborn is in­creas­ing­ly angry at James’ en­dan­ger­ment of them all and Eldridge grows ever more terrified and fatalistic. The Hurt Locker is a gritty and visceral war film. We have no idea what’s going to happen next and anyone could be blown up or shot at any time. The bomb makers are faceless and unseen. There are no villains for us to focus on, only the frequent danger and the consequent stress. Renner’s out­stand­ing per­for­mance made him a star, as he inhabits the role of the confident and probably psy­cho­path­ic James.