Mediocrity Defined

Rating: 6/10 (5 April 2013)

Due to its receiving of academy attention and the generally positive light in which critics have viewed this movie I was expecting quite a bit from Zero Dark Thirty. Alas ZDT is just another movie in a series of over hyped movies released this year which i responded to with a resounding meh. Don't get me wrong this is not a bad film but I find it hard to say that is fantastic as many others have.
To begin I would like to say that this movie contains nothing strikingly original it is full of sequences ripped straight out of other modern military action movies, the best example being when Jessica's (Jennifer Ehle) meeting with an apparent informant. I don't want to spoil the result but the scene is full of tension building clique's that movie goers have seen so many times I just about understood its anatomy before it had even begun.
Can I add that casting actors who have been in cult TV series to play minor supporting roles in movies is never a good idea. Both the one true king of Westeros Stannis Baratheon, Thomas Jefferson and Henry Francis appear in this movie and it caused me to think and then say aloud 'wait a second isn't that the guy from Game of Thrones.' I become instantly aware that I'm watching a movie and it annoys the heck out of me. I'm not saying avoid TV actors all together (I think it would be a shame if Charles Dance never appeared in another Hollywood film) just cast them as major characters so that they become immersed in the role enough for me to forget that they were once the guy that Betty had an affair with in Mad Men. Just a suggestion.
Other then this the movie is nothing special, the climactic sequence in which the raid on Osama Bin Laden's complex is undeniably interesting and certainly lifted the movie but ultimately reminded me of playing Call of Duty. Yes the Zero Dark Thirty does contain an interesting true story (though I'm unsure how true it really is) but is directed with nearly no style and lacks any innovation. It is good action movie from a good director but an innovative and Oscar worthy film it certainly is not.