Been looking forward to this one and finally got a chance to see it tonight.

Hmmm...

I wouldn't say the movie disappointed me but it definitely left me, idunno, unsatisfied, underwhelmed, take your pick. I saw a documentary, think it was a BBC documentary, about the hunt for bin Laden and the actual raid on his compound and that one had me on the edge of my seat - even though I knew how it would all end. This one...not so much.

ZD30 litterally goes through all the months/years in the hunt for bin Laden seen mainly through the eyes of Jessica Chastain's character, Maya. In itself not a problem and believe there are some really good scenes in this movie but as a whole it just failed to connect with me.

The reason was clear to me halfway through the movie - and this is the point where the movie actually gets good - the character of Maya. I don't think I liked her. I definitely didn't know her. Never...felt her. And in the end I couldn't really root for her. I had no problem rooting for her cause or crusade but not for her. Bigelow tries to portray her as this driven and I guess ambitious force of nature, and she definitely is BUT that usually means having to do a lot of personal sacrifices - which I'm sure she did, it's just never shown with any sort of depth that would allow me to feel any sort of sympathy toward her. And I don't even have to tell anyone how the movie ends for her - you could see that coming a mile away.

There are plenty of other characters in this movies that have very little screen time and you immediately feel them, like them and want them to succeed. For me, Jason Clarke's character, Dan, was far more interesting. Which brings us to the torture debate. Really? US Senators are upset with the torture scenes in this movie? Are you fucking kidding me? We see a guy getting water boarded, see him standing naked in a cell cause his shit his pants, see him being put in a tiny box. They're upset that this is shown in a movie? Maybe they should be a little more upset with the fact that, according the George W. Bush administration, enhanced interrogation techniques are not torture. Just saying. The really interesting discussion is whether or not it works.

The actual raid on bin Laden's compound seems very real. No over the top music cues or insane sound effects - it's actually very quiet, very matter of fact'ish. Violent when it needs to be but not self aggrandizing in any way shape or form.

So overall, an okay movie with some solid highlights but the lack of any real character depth brought it waaay down in my book.

Btw. does anyboy know why the SEALs are wearing what appears to be two sets of night vision goggles?

Is it purely a redundancy issue or does it give them a broader field of vision?

Quoted from sniper Btw. does anyboy know why the SEALs are wearing what appears to be two sets of night vision goggles? Is it purely a redundancy issue or does it give them a broader field of vision?

LOL. I had the same thought.
I can only imagine how heavy that gear is too.
It seems they can look to the side this way.
Wish there was a shot or two in the film to clear this up.
Just a CU or two of some eyeballs would do it.

E.D.

For some reason, I thought the other thread was a review thread.
But I guess it got all bloaty due to controversy, etc.

I caught the film this holiday weekend.
Let me get the whole torture outrage out the way upfront.
I didn't rage at all during those scenes. Why?
This stuff happens. The movie didn't make up those torture techniques.
I felt it was a downright practical look at a horrible act.
The reason I didn't get all butthurt over the scenes... are the Americans.

Dan and Maya don't enjoy what they're doing.
They don't want to torture this guy. They're human beings too.
But they'll do what they have to when it comes to stopping terrorism.
it's they're job. They don't enjoy it. Abhor it, actually.
So, why all the outcry?

Anyway, onto the movie. It hooked me plain and simple.
The first time I looked at the clock, AN HOUR had already passed.

I don't know how accurate this take on the story is.
I also haven't seen the Nat'l Geo doco on the same subject.
But the narrative of this film was downright addictive to me.
Sure, it felt like pure Hollywood pacing, but its magic spell worked on me.

Like Sniper, I noted how uncharacterized Maya was compared to everyone else.
And I think it was a conscious choice on the part of the filmmakers.
As if to say, you have to subjugate your identity to commit to this cause.
And you know what? I bought it.

And what a KILLER THIRD ACT!
The goal is simple and the movie delivers on the promise of the premise.
In spades.

This is an imminently watchable thriller that kept me engaged for 156 minutes.

E.D.

Good review and good question on the goggles.

Quoted from sniper Btw. does anyboy know why the SEALs are wearing what appears to be two sets of night vision goggles?

Lol.  I thought that's kind of a strange question coming from somebody who calls himself 'Sniper'.  :-)  What's up, Rob, by the way?

But yeah, it gives them full-peripheral vision that regular night visions don't give them.

Found this about it:

http://kitup.military.com/2011/06/hi-tech-night-vision-on-bin-laden-raid.html


As for the movie, I haven't seen it, but am very interested in it.  Eww.  They torture people in this movie?  Nevermind.  You guys know my queasy stomach.  I'm out.

Quoted Text The QUADEYE® (cool name by the way) is designed around four, advanced, 16mm, image-intensifier tubes. Its modular construction permits the user to select between using only the two inner channels or four panoramic channels. Additionally, QUADEYE® provides for projection of avionics head up display symbology or the aircraft’s targeting sensor’s video image into the goggle’s eyepiece through a high-resolution display. A debriefing camera has been integrated into the eyepiece to record what the user sees and may be used for mission debriefing or user training. The unit uses the standard position and adjustment shelf for pupillary distance, pupillary tilt adjustment, and eye relief. It attaches to any helmet using an ANVIS mount and is compatible with ANVIS HUD® through an interconnect cable and interface box.

Quoted from rc1107 Eww.  They torture people in this movie?  Nevermind.  You guys know my queasy stomach.  I'm out.

Mark, you pussy, stop writing those happy-go-lucky family flicks and cowboy the fuck up.  :P

It's going good btw, bro, hope things are good at your end as well.

Nice review, Snipes. It actually saves me from writing much because you so summed up my feelings on this.

The timeline approach must be owing to the fact they were writing that film about the pursuit and decided to leave much of it in. It was a pretty exhaustive rundown of the chase to capture him and while that was informative, they never drew me in to want to truly care about it.

In my opinion this film needed the intrigue and pace of The Bourne Ultimatum, minus the ass kicking. Zero Dark Thirty meandered and it felt like Bigelow didn't really know what she wanted to say with it because she had too much to say. Had they taken one strand and ran with it, this movie would have benefitted massively.

Hate to say it, but I wasn't impressed with this.  I didn't hate it and can easily see how some would love it, but for me, it was way too long, way too dull throughout the first hour and just didn't really deliver when it was all said and done.

For me, there were too many characters who I knew nothing to little about.  Maya was obviously our lead here, but during the last hour or so, when things got interesting, she had little screen time and little to do with the action.  In the same vein, all the Protags who stormed the stronghold had little to nothing to do with all the leadup.

I really didn't buy into many of the characters here.  Their scenes felt very staged and I just didn't really care for anyone.

I see little to no repeat viewing value and for me, that's always the sign of a movie that didn't really deliver much.

Interestingly enough, I viewed Argo 1 night later..  Other than both movies having Kyle Chandler in similar roles, as well as a storyline that is similar, the results were completely different - yes, that means I actually enjoyed Argo, but did not relly enjoy this.

Holy poop, for once I agree with Jeff about a movie. This has got to be the most overrated movie of 2012. It wasn't horrible by any means. And I actually liked the way it started out, but it slowly just went were I expected it to go and then it just ended. It gets a meh from me.

Gotta say, I'm not a big fan of the director. I was enjoying The Hurt Locker up until the last 20 minutes... and now this. Hmm...

~Zack~

Quoted from Zack Holy poop, for once I agree with Jeff about a movie.

Miracles happen all the time!!!

Quoted from Zack Gotta say, I'm not a big fan of the director. I was enjoying The Hurt Locker up until the last 20 minutes... and now this. Hmm...

Yo have you seen Near Dark? There was a time when Bigelow was super awesome. Some of her older flicks might give you a new appreciation...

Strange Days is also pretty awesome and Point Break is a minor classic -- as commemorated, of course, in Hot Fuzz.

Quoted from Heretic Yo have you seen Near Dark? There was a time when Bigelow was super awesome. Some of her older flicks might give you a new appreciation... Strange Days is also pretty awesome and Point Break is a minor classic -- as commemorated, of course, in Hot Fuzz.

Chris, well said.  Very well said.  Near Dark is good...maybe great for the time.

Strange Days has always been a favorite of mine.

And Point Break?  Yes, I agree...very, very good, no matter what anyone says.

Never seen Near Dark, but I did see K19: The Widowmaker and I enjoyed that quite a bit.

~Zack~

Quoted from Heretic Point Break is a minor classic

I miss Patrick Swayze.

I just watched this last night.  I was eager to see it, but after watching it I really wasn't impressed at all.

The torture scenes were a bit much to stomach, but I guess they were part of the real story so its hard to leave them out.  Throughout large chunks of the movie it was difficult to follow what exactly was being said.  Even worst, large parts of the climatic scene where the Seals land at the compound and they get UBL were nearly pitch black and I could barely see anything that was going on.  I  kept thinking that they were turning this into another bad horror movie where most of the scenes worth watching are too dark to see.  Why didn't they just show that entire part of the movie through night vision goggles?  I mean they showed parts of it through night vision, why not all of it?

What bothered me the most is that I felt like I learned little to nothing about the hunting down UBL that I didn't already know.  The writers that do Yahoo news get blasted a lot for rushed and poorly written pieces, and the entire time I was watching Zero Dark Thirty I kept asking myself did one of the writers for Yahoo write this script or direct the movie?

Overall, I don't really understand anyone who hyped this movie up after seeing it.  It had the potential to be a really good movie and it fell way short due to a weak script, poor acting, poor directing, and poor editing.The writer obviously did their research when writing the script, they just did a poor job conveying their knowledge and making it interesting.

Yeah, will echo everybody's comments here. Far too dull and IMHO, not worth it -- even with the end. Chastain's character was pretty darn unlikeable, she just came off as a real bitch, I don't even remember her name and I watched it a few hours ago -- which is usually a bad sign.

On a side note, I watched Argo yesterday -- which I'd recommend any day over this.

Quoted from nawazm11 On a side note, I watched Argo yesterday -- which I'd recommend any day over this.

I watched them back to back also, Mo and agree 100% with you - Argo easily tops this in pretty much every way.

Quoted from Dreamscale I watched them back to back also, Mo and agree 100% with you - Argo easily tops this in pretty much every way.

Yeah definitely, I could see a lot more care went into it than this.