Review: Zero Dark Thirty (2013)

Where were you when the news of Osama bin Laden's capture/death broke?  I know where I was.  I was sitting in front of this very computer, livestreaming MSNBC's coverage of the event.  Matt Lauer reported everything as the story developed and I was hanging to his every word.

I first heard about it on Twitter and immediately took to the internet for confirmation.  Since I do not have a TV in my room, I scrambled for a livestream and hoped that my kindergarten-age Macbook could handle it.  Thankfully, it did and I dropped everything to watch everything as it unfolded.  I never got as emotional as I did when President Obama gave his speech.  I can only imagine the mood in that Situation Room.

Now, the lady who brought us The Hurt Locker is back with another military-themed film based on "the greatest manhunt in history".  Zero Dark Thirty is a fictionalized account of the hunt for Osama bin Laden.

It was a tough movie to watch.  It was long and it drags.  It jumps the timeline often.  I had a headache going in so I was fighting to keep my eyes open.  But I am interested in this kind of thing and I enjoyed it.  I just liked The Hurt Locker a bit more.

I enjoyed the performances by Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Ehle, and Jason Clarke.  I loved Clarke in Chicago Code (so sad that they canceled that awesome show).  I wish there was more of him in the movie.  He's so bad ass and I really like him.  Jessica Chastain's performance was powerful.  It did start off weak but it just picked up as the film went on.  There wasn't any action until the very end where the Navy SEALS finally entered the picture.  Two hours of sitting there watching people file and talk to get to the actual operation.  It wasn't as fulfilling as I expected but I still liked it.

It was definitely a Bigelow piece.  You can see similarities between this movie and The Hurt Locker.  I found myself more engaged in the latter, and it's not just because of Jeremy Renner.  This was just too long and dragging.  But it is still worth it to watch this movie.  Especially if you are interested in stuff like this as I am.