The Hurt Locker is an American war film about a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team during the Iraq War. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow and the screenplay was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded (Embedded journalism) as a journalist in 2004 with a US bomb squad in Iraq. It stars Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty as members of the EOD unit and follows their tour of duty as they contend with defusing bombs, the threat of insurgency (Iraqi insurgency), and the tension that develops among them.

The film was shot in Jordan within miles of the Iraqi border, because Bigelow wanted to bring greater authenticity to the film. This benefited filming by supplying many Iraqi refugees for extras and the unmistakable heat of the Middle East.

The Hurt Locker premiered at the Venice Film Festival in Italy during 2008. After being shown at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was picked up for distribution in the United States by Summit Entertainment. The film was released in the United States on June 26, 2009 but received a more widespread theatrical release on July 24, 2009.

Because the 2008 film was not originally released in the U.S. until 2009, it was eligible to be judged in the 82nd Academy Awards held in 2010. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won six including Best Picture (Academy Award for Best Picture) and Best Director (Academy Award for Best Director) for Bigelow, the first woman to win this award.

The Hurt Locker also earned numerous awards and honors from critics organizations, festivals and groups, including six BAFTA Awards (63rd British Academy Film Awards).