Despite all the bad publicity and the grousing, I thought this was brilliant filmmaking

Rating: 8/10 (30 March 2013)

I resisted seeing this film for several political reasons. In particular I thought it would be a smear campaign and the worst kind of one-sided propaganda. But despite all the 'mistakes' pointed out in the IMDb, most of which I am not capable of picking up on not being from the Middle East, I was very impressed. As filmmaking, it's hard to fault on almost any level.
Surprisingly, Chastain is not glamorized or even unduly prettified in this film. I didn't expect that at all. Instead she comes across as the hard-working girl next door. And the Pakistanis and Taliban, or Al Qaeda, are not unduly demonized either. Instead they seem more like real people you can actually believe exist, though I imagine the real parties would be far more exacting in their verbal assaults.
Though I didn't particularly like The Hurt Locker, I do like this film and have to admit that Bigelow shows enormous talent in putting this story on the screen. You would not think she would have as savvy an understanding of this subject matter as she does, being a woman. I might have desired a few small changes, having been in the military, but have no problem recommending her take.