Last week I reviewed a coupel of movies in which bombs played an important role. When making a film a bomb is a perfect way to make sure you evoke emotions like tension. The ticking time clock is something which is used a lot and the next ten movies are about bombs or have bombs in them. Which are the best ones?

10. The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight has various moments in which the Joker uses bombs. He blows up a hospital, but one of the most tense moments in the movie are the scene in which two ferries are getting out of Gotham. One of them is filled with criminals, the other with civilians. The Joker tells how both ships have a bomb on them and that the trigger for each bomb is located on the other boat. When neither of them decides to use the trigger then he will detonate both of them. A moment that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

9. Blown Away

In this list Blown Away can’t be left out. Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges) is a member of the bomb squad and has to face Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones). Gaerity has chosen specific targets and makes bomb which are hard to disable. It’s up to Dove to stop him before his family gets involved.

8. Lethal Weapon 2

When it comes to places you don’t want to find bombs, the toilet is probably pretty high on the list. When Murtaugh finds out he has his pants on his ankles and has to remain seated until a whole team can see if they can solve the situation.

7. The Rock

One of the few Michael Bay movies I can really enjoy. When a former general holds a couple of visitors prisoner on Alcatraz he threatens to shoot nerve gas on San Francisco. It is up to Stanley Goodspeed (Nicolas Cage) and John Patrick Mason (Sean Connery) to get to the island and defuse the bomb. The scene in which he has to remove a couple of green balls is nerve wrecking.

6. The Terror Live

That a bomb is a way to get attention is something The Terror Live shows, in which the host of a radio show receives a call from a man showing that he’s able to realize his threats. Not only by blowing up a bridge, but also by telling him that he has put a earpiece into the ear of one of the guests which he is able to detonate when the host doesn’t do what he tells him to.

5. Die Hard with a Vengeance

The game “Simon says” is the central idea in the third Die Hard movie, in which John McClane (Bruce Willis) has to work together with Zeus Carver (Samuel L. Jackson) to prevent a bomb to go off at an elementary school. The movie has several bomb scenes which they have to try to diffuse.

4. Juggernaut

Seven tons of explosive material, a ship on heavy seas and a bomb expert are the ingredients for Juggernaut. A nerve wrecking movie in which the only way to survive is by diffusing bombs put together by an expert, filled with ways to trick those wanting to disable it.

3. Speed

The concept is simple: There is a bomb on a bus and when it goes below 50 it will explode. A concept which is perfectly executed in this exciting thriller made by Jan de Bont.

2. Arlington Road

A movie which in my opinion hasn’t been seen enough, but one that can’tbe missed. It is about a professor (Jeff Bridges) who thinks his neighbours (played by Tim Robbins and Joan Cusack) are terrorists. A tense drama with lots of mystery and a devestating ending.

1. The Hurt Locker

The life of a bomb disposal group is often shows as a flashy thing, big heros who are able to control any situation. The Hurt Locker doesn’t do that and shows the reality of the work, in this case a group that has to diffuse bombs during the war in Iraq, in which not only the bombs are dangerous, but the people surrounding them might also be. It shows how destructive bombs can be and what it can do to people, even if they don’t explode.

What’s your opinion of this list? Which ones would you also include?