Taut adaptation of the real-life account in the massive manhunt for Osama Bin Laden ; The best historical thriller since ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2012)

ZERO DARK THIRTY (2012) ***1/2 Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Ehle, Harold Perrineau, Mark Strong, Fredric Lehne, Mark Duplass, James Gandolfini, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Valley. Taut adaptation of the real-life account in the massive manhunt for Osama Bin Laden with a CIA task force scrambling against time in the endless goose chase of Public Enemy No. 1 with worldwide speculations, last-minute decision making and genuine helplessness in the never-ending pursuit for justice and finally redemption on a global scale. Mark Boal's streamlined and sharply woven screenplay is so tightly strung that it manages to pinprick you to reality when a shocking moment of brutal action pops onto the screen, thanks to expert direction by Kathryn Bigelow. The only backward step is the too precise pacing and airlessness throughout but weighing on the slender yet capable shoulders of Chastain, as the rookie CIA analyst whose decade long endeavor brings about the release for millions. The best historical thriller since ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN.