Zero Dark Thirty

[baumer]

Discuss

[Plain Old Tele]

Dense, taut, gripping. The ultimate procedural. Lots of information thrown at you and you're left to grasp bits and pieces and fill in what's going on, but it's never confusing. It reminds me in some ways of HEAT, in others of ZODIAC. But it shies away, for the most part, of going for the easy target, and it confronts head on exactly what it means to do this sort of covert op.

Great film.

A

[Crusader]

I am now officially stoked for this Whenever I see it ... it better fucking deliver !

[CoolioD1]

Probably the best film we could've gotten on this subject. Over 2.5 hours long and not a single moment feels wasted. Some parts are unbelievable tense like the ending raid, and others are extremely hard to watch like the first twenty minutes which are basically just a guy getting tortured. Great cast all the way down to the smallest roles.

[riczhang]

It was brilliant, and I agree with Coolio that it's the best film we could've gotten on this subject. It's emotionally hollow, but its impact isn't muted. The first 20 minutes were the best IMO, which was slightly disappointing as I kinda expected it to take off from there except it kinda sunk a little bit. Chastain was very good, but that was to be expected. It fails to make my top 10 by a hair. (Though at this point, Lawless (#10), Exotic, and This are probably gonna fight it out for that #10 spot when I finalise my list of the year.)

[Plain Old Tele]

Interesting, I thought it really hit its stride *after* the first half hour.

[riczhang]

Interesting, I thought it really hit its stride *after* the first half hour.

I loved the first half hour. It was great. The raid's editing between the nightvision, and the regular vision was kinda weird as well. It felt disjointed. The beginning was definitely by far the best, and then followed by the raid. The middle really sagged a bit.

[75Live]

I just got back from this movie. I thought it was really good. Agreed that the beginning and end are the best parts, but the middle did enough to keep me interested and involved in the movie. All the acting was well done and the movie was pretty tense for the most part.

I still don't get all the hoopla about the torture stuff. There was barely any in it.

A-

[jb007]

Good movie. While it meticulously chronicles the search for Bin Laden, it is not as gripping as the material demanded it to be. Bigelow fails to build the tension during the most critical phase where Bin Laden deservedly is killed like a mangy dog. Cinematography is average. Score is below average and Jessica Chastain is excellent.

The movie is merely good. It should have/could have been way better.

B+

Edited January 6, 2013 by jb007

[FilmBuff]

It is the single best movie to come out of 2012, transcendent in every way possible. Jessica Chastain gives an oscar-worthy performance, the last 30 minutes alone are worth the price of admission. It is definitely #1 on my list.A+

[Plain Old Tele]

FilmBuff, how can you and I disagree on so many movies and yet be in total agreement here?

[Jake Gittes]

Until I get to see Django Unchained and The Master, this is my favorite movie of 2012. Masterful direction, taut writing, perfect editing and not a false note in any of the performances - Jason Clarke, in particular, is going to get really sought after after this. There were times when I did think both the film and Chastain might have been going for a bit too much emotional distance, but then I was surprised how perfectly the very final scene landed. While the reviews led me to expect something very close to Zodiac (a film I absolutely love), it isn't quite that - Zodiac was much more about how the long and exhausting obsession of its three main characters nearly destroyed their lives, ultimately dissolving in time rather than getting a closure. Maya's obsession in ZDT has a very clear closure - her own personal Zodiac found and killed - but much more of an emphasis is placed on the aftermath. "Where do you want to go?", she is asked. All she could do in response is cry, helpless, in a state of (as I'm sure it was to her) terrifying uncertainty.I'm not entirely sure how ZDT will hold up on the second viewing, but for now it's a very, very impressive piece of work, especially considering I tend to get sceptical, not over-hyped, when I sit down to watch movies that received this kind of early praise. Zero Dark Thirty got me in its grip in its first minutes and didn't let go for the remaining 150.

[baumer]

Well FUCK.I liked the film, much to my chagrin.And here's why I was able to separate my personal feelings from the enjoyment of the film.I remember in 1991, JFK really divided a lot of academy members because they didn't like the politics of the film. They didn't believe in what Stone and Garrison were saying. So they basically ignored it at the oscars, when imo, it was clearly the best film of the year.So I didn't want to be a hypocrite so I decided I would put my beliefs aside and go watch the film just for the film, and not for politics.So having said that, this is a really good film. Bigelow directs it with a lot of skill and panache. She builds the tension and she had a few scenes in the film that really caught me off guard. The suicide bomber on the CIA grounds that killed Jessica was shocking. It was a very well directed scene, one of just many that Bigelow manages. I can see why this is up for a ton of awards. I'm a little surprised Jason Clarke isn't getting more recognition for this. He is brilliant in this and is perhaps one of the five best supporting performances of the year. I do take umbrage with one part of the film and that is the torture. I felt that they painted the US as the nice torturers. Yes waterboarding sucks, but when the guy at the beginning was being tortured, I didn't real fear for his life. If you want to see another version of American torture to Arabs, watch The Siege when Tariq Hussein is being tortured by Bruce Willis. The torture methods they mentioned in there were a lot more brutal than in here. But that's a small complaint.ZDT is one of the best films of the year. I still have a few films ahead of it and three for sure would be Argo, SLP and Perks. But this is a very well made film.9/10

[Lordmandeep]

I watched the film...Its easily the epic describing the 9/11 world...The film stays netural till near the end and even up till the raid the death of Bin Laden is not made as an epic dramatic event.It is only after does the film play the music, and everyone looks happy and suprised and realized what they have done. Only thing is I wished the film buildup the raid a bit more...Howevere the ending was epic, with her looking at Bin Laden's body...That was the sight I wanted to see in the film and the director did not shy away.The film plays at your emotions, was torture needed? Did the CIA act correctly in getting Bin Laden?With all those questions you still got a very satisying ending seeing a brutal man facing ulitmate justice.A-I think the director was bold with the torture but she should have made Bin Laden's death a bigger deal because it was...

Edited January 8, 2013 by Lordmandeep

[baumer]

I actually thought the killing of Bin Laden was left kind of ambiguous. Yes, she identified the body but there is no real way of knowing if that was BIN LADEN OR NOT. She shakes her head yes, but there is no test done to prove its him, so in a way, the movie still leaves it open for questions.

[Lordmandeep]

No No no...The film ends with her looking in silent joy and sad reflection.Its like yes he is finally dead after so long... You can think the film is casting doubts on Bin Laden being real or fake, but the director never ever points to that.She did not show the face of Bin Laden face directly...

[Plain Old Tele]

...back, and to the left......back, and to the left...

[baumer]

...back, and to the left......back, and to the left...

Have you seen the picture of Bin Laden on the net that shows him dead? That picture has been proven to be a fake. So yes, the back and to the left is appropos here.

[Lordmandeep]

I think we should stop making Bin Laden larger then life..I remember after the events the media made it seem he went out like Scarface...

[Jake Gittes]

The scene of his killing in the movie is perfect. He shows himself, gets taken out in less than a second, and that's it. No slow-motion, no dramatic music, nothing. He was alive a second ago, now he's dead, just like any other person in his place would be.