Zero Dark Thirty: Starting Off the New Year With a Bang!

Rating: 8/10 (14 January 2013)

Zero Dark Thirty follows a C.I.A. operative's ten year man hunt of Osama bin Laden, former leader of the terrorist organization al-Qaeda, and how his death at the hands of Navy S.E.A.L. team six came into fruition.
The film is told in chapters in which there is a heavy amount of dialogue that is all building up to the eventual assembly of one of the biggest moments in American Military history. For the first hour and forty five minutes of the film, the pace is very well maintained, incorporating a lot of dialogue with several small action scenes mixed in to keep the audience on the edge of your seat. However, the story really begins to slow down as the film reaches its climax and this may be the films biggest downfall. Similar to Django Unchained and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the film could probably be cut down by at least ten to fifteen minutes.
Zero Dark Thirty also features a terrific cast, highlighted by Jessica Chastain's performance as Maya, for which she won a Golden Globe award this past Sunday. The film also includes performances by Jason Clarke, Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, James Gandolfini, and Kyle Chandler. All the film's performances are outstanding and people should go and check out the film just for the acting alone.
With a good story and excellent performances, Zero Dark Thirty is another great film being released just in time for the Academy Awards season. I would highly recommend going to the theatre and checking this one out.