Worth a watch; even after some apparent drawbacks

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2013)

The biggest problem with this thriller was that the 'thrill' was no secret. The whole world knows the broad outlines of the greatest manhunt in the history. So the challenge in front of the filmmakers was to make it gripping and investigative (much more details are expected than those we already know from TV channels/newspaper articles).
Overall the film is worth a watch, but the lead character - Maya - played by Chastain is poorly written and developed. She does not seem knowledgeable about Al-Queda, Afghanistan, Pakistan or anything related to that geography. We are just supposed to take her word for it! Like when she scolds her senior for not knowing Al Queda. Nowhere in this film we feel that Maya is anything more than a desk analyst! On the contrary, the character of Carrie Mathison (played by Claire Danes) in the TV show Homeland is much closer to what the real life Maya (if such person actually exist/ed at all) should have been.
Anyway, the talk about torture scenes is more hype than anything else. The scenes were not so gory at all; much more gory details are shown on American Television! Too many goof-ups in geographical details are a constant turn off. But only the Indians and Pakistanis will find or mind these goof-ups; most Western (or non-Asians) will not notice them.
The last 20 minutes or so are superb and the real highlight of this film. Notice how quickly the 'target' is eliminated without much drama.
Overall, a decent film that could have been very good if the cared to develop the lead character rather than presenting a documentary.