I’ve written about productions aiming for realism and falling short in big or sometimes ironic ways, like how Into the Wild cast a left-handed actor to play their right-handed biopic subject. The Hurt Locker is a portrait of military EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). It isn’t about a real person and there isn’t a fictional thriller plot to get in the way of showing the actual process. In fact, the military’s main complaint is that Jeremy Renner’s character is unprofessional, often putting himself and those around him at risk. The biggest dramatic license is mostly having Staff Sergeant William James work without the bomb suit so that the camera can see Renner’s face.
That really is an authentic bomb suit, and even though temperatures were over 100 degrees, it was Renner inside. Even in the long shots, they wouldn’t use a double because Renner has a distinctive walk. The production consulted with real life bomb squads, whose biggest complaint about Hollywood movies is the bright orange created by burning gasoline. An effort was made for more authentic explosions, full of dense, dark clouds and small particles flying everywhere. For style, a Phantom camera was used. Capable of filming 10-20 thousand frames per second, it captured the rumble right before detonation, including debris lifting off the ground.
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