Review 2013 by RD Clark
Zero Dark Thirty
Written by: Mark Boal
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, and Édgar Ramírez (and if you don’t blink, you’ll see John Barrowman!)
Rated R
Running time: 157 mins
A freshman CIA agent get fixated on finding Usama Bin Laden. Using every means, many rather unsavory, she tracks him for ten years until she think she has him. Then it’s time to send in the SEALS.
This is a pretty uneven movie. Going from moments of nail-biting suspense to some pretty bland office politics, it saves itself with the raid on the compound where they find and kill their objective. I very was put off by the torture; I wouldn’t say this was an endorsement, quite the opposite. I have to ask how far we should be willing to go before we become worse than the enemy? And it loses some points for the shaky cam. At over two and a half hours, I got twitchy in parts, wishing they would get on with it.
But the performances were very good, especially Mark Strong and Jessica Chastain. The sets were convincing and in some cases awe-inspiring. When it moved, it moved very well.
Overall, I would recommend this one, but leave the kids at home. There were no post-credit scenes, so feel free to flee once they roll.
Flytrap rating: 7.5 / 10
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