Zero Dark Thirty is a pretty long movie clocking in at almost 2½ hours, but that time is needed for the viewer to go through the process of watching Maya turn from a quiet young agent to a determined powerhouse hell bent on bringing UBL down. There are a lot of changes that occur over the 10+ years she spends in the Middle East on this mission and a number of people come and go from her life in the Middle East. Jessica Chastain is amazing in her role, as she always is, but the rest of the cast is great, as well. Jason Clarke is downright frightening, while Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt impress as no-nonsense men of war. It was also nice to see Harold Perrineau (Lost) again.
Overall, Zero Dark Thirty is a tense, dark and powerful look at the greatest manhunt in American history and the people who worked relentlessly to see it happen. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes that the general American public never even knows about and director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal (both of The Hurt Locker) shine a bright light on some of these often unsavory processes. Whether you agree with the tactics or not, their effectiveness can’t be argued with as Bin Laden was successfully eliminated and with his death, the world breathed a collective sigh of relief. Zero Dark Thirty might be a bit harsh for some viewers as there are scenes of torture and war violence, but the film had an impact on me and I think its great. I even enjoyed every minute of the special features and I am typically bored by those. The special features cover the making of, a tour of UBL’s compound recreated for the film, Chastain in the role of Maya, and finally, the cast as they train with real life SEAL gear. I was surprised that there were no deleted scenes, but these may have been reserved for the Blu-ray version. Zero Dark Thirty comes highly recommended for those who want a peek into a small part of the resolution of one of America’s darkest times.