Kathryn Bigelow Does It Again

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2013)

Kathryn Bigelow has done it again for me with her film "Zero Dark Thirty". It may have taken awhile to get to some of her scenes that almost make you too scared to see what's behind a corner, but those scenes were as equally exciting as they were in "The Hurt Locker". Going in to this film, I actually had something to compare this to besides what I and the whole world heard and what the U.S. government allowed us to see. Yesterday, I saw "Seal Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden", and I definitely could tell the difference from that movie, or some film made for TV, to this one. That movie obviously wasn't as intense as this one was, but it at least gave you an idea of what the soldiers went through to get ready for their big mission. I felt that the main focus was on the main character played by Jessica Chastain. In the beginning of the movie, you see how she seemed so innocent and new to the task she was assigned to, but as the movie progressed, you see her become more and more obsessed with reaching the goal of this task, even if it meant her life or the lives of others. It kind of amazes you when you see the things the CIA did to finally reach 5/1/11.
Once the movie gets to the point where the dream team comes in, you notice how it automatically focuses on them a little and gets straight to the action. Once the big objective commenced, it was as if you were transported into the room where Obama, Biden, Hillary, and many others were while watching a masterpiece play before your very eyes. I'm glad that I saw this movie since I got to see a depiction of this event that I doubt our government would ever release to us. The movie does give you that sees of doubt regarding some things and makes you come up with your own solutions, but even if the #1 target in that compound wasn't him, seeing the carrying out of that objective was thrilling and epic at the same time. I think I probably held my breath a lot during it. Besides that scene, there were some other scenes that made me hold my breath since you could feel that something was a little off during them.
Overall, it's definitely a movie to see, but I don't think it was material for Best Picture. I really enjoyed it as much as I did Django Unchained, but I believe Django's nomination for Best Picture was right. Maybe my mom was right and that it got nominated solely on the subject and how authentic Bigelow made it. I got to give it to whoever designed the Bin Laden compound since it looked as so real you'd think that they were actually filming the movie in it. But still, I just don't see it making Best Picture. If it somehow manages to get that title, I'll be shocked. Overall, I'd rate this movie an 8.4/10 and would recommend seeing it if you want to see how we "got" Osama Bin Laden.