Good, not great.

Rating: 7/10 (11 March 2013)

Zero Dark Thirty is a film about the decade long man-hunt for the world's most wanted man, Osama Bin Laden. It follows Maya, played by Jessica Chastain, as a CIA agent trying to find Osama. It makes interesting use of Maya as a "fly on the wall" type character for a glimpse into what the CIA was up to during those 10 years. The CIA has come out to say it's obviously a dramatization of actual proceedings (they definitely would, after those torture scenes), but I think it's loosely based on 2 books about the hunt.
Jessica Chastain is brilliant. She plays a CIA agent recruited straight out of High School and basically spends all her time on the Osama chase. She's incredibly tough yet still manages to portray some sort of vulnerability. The supporting cast are solid as well. The film has a very similar feel to "the Hurt Locker", also directed by Kathryn Bigelow, which examines the mind states of personnel on the frontlines. I think my problem with the film is I expected too much of it. The middle chapter is definitely a slow burner and felt like a chronicle of events more than anything else. The final chapter though, where they re-enact the killing of Osama was pretty good and is the only real "action" you will see in the movie. If you're expecting gunfights and action, this will not be for you. A majority of the film is spent showing how they linked and tracked down Osama and the difficulties it brought. Overall, it's still a very solid film and definitely worth a watch.