Sgt. William James (played by Jeremy Renner), a “wild man” hooked on the adrenaline of war, serves as an explosives specialist in Iraq, seeking out and disarming IEDs with two other members of Bravo company bomb squad. As Bravo’s tour of duty is counting down, the team wonders if James is putting them in unnecessary jeopardy with his reckless tactics.

The ClearPlay Factor

The Hurt Locker is a gritty war movie that puts the viewer in the middle of the action with handheld cameras and point-of-view shots. It’s violence and war language earned an R-rating. The ClearPlayed version removes nearly 150 incidents of profanity and lewd discussions. Scenes of violence are trimmed by a few frames to cut the impact of both bullets and explosions. One scene, involving the bloody corpse of a young boy with explosives sewn into his abdomen, is cut. The movie is still probably too intense for sensitive viewers.

How explosive is The Hurt Locker?…

The Hurt Locker does not portray a standard plot with rising action, but follows its characters through the madness and chaos of day-to-day war, often with extremely realistic results. Visually gripping, the movie has many images that will stick with you long after the credits roll, and holds its own with some of the best war movies.

Marty Nabhan—ClearPlay Cinematic Bomb Detector

Rated R for war violence and language.; 131 min; Directed By Kathryn Bigelow