Good but not great

Rating: 6/10 (24 August 2015)

I'll admit I do have an interest in unsolved crimes. It fascinates me that the Zodiac killer managed to escape arrest. I also admit that I like David Fincher's films. Having said this I feel this film was a disappointment. While it is good, it is perhaps one of Fincher's worst (Alien 3 and Panic Room being worse than this, both terrible).
I'll start with the positive. After watching some behind the scenes footage, it is clear the level of effort that Fincher has put into this film. He recreated the crime scenes as close as he possibly could based on the evidence from the case. This film sparked my interest in the Zodiac killer and led me to find out more for myself.
Robert Downey Jr was well cast in his role as was Mark Ruffalo.
On the other hand, Jake Gyllenhaal was a poor choice for the lead. His performance was weak which is surprising considering that he has proved his acting ability in other films.
I find it interesting Fincher chose to shoot this film on digital, however, I feel it hampered the film because the aesthetics did not give the film a retro feel. I think this film would have been better off being shot on celluloid in order to create a retro atmosphere.
Although this may not put all of this film but all the killings take place within the first half an hour. This leaves 2 hours hunting for the killer. This itself is not a problem for me but there needs to be something to hold my interest which this film didn't do very well. It's just if you show the murders, it should be spread out. If you want an interesting film about hunting a serial killer by Fincher check out Se7en (which is fantastic) or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (not as good as Se7en but still very well done despite its flaws).
I feel the ending should have been left open. Considering the Zodiac killer was never caught I think the film should have perhaps ended with a scene of the characters talking about how they may never find out. But this film uses Leigh Allen as a fictional culprit based on Robert Graysmith's assumptions. I admit it is possible but Graysmith was a cartoonist not an investigator so I am sceptical of his claim. Also, many people claim to have solved the case blaming different individuals so anyone could have been chosen as the culprit and it would have made no difference. I know From Hell chose a fictional culprit but From Hell wasn't trying to be historically accurate unlike this film.
In the end, this film was better when I re-watched it, however, I believe for the reasons I mentioned above that the film failed to live up to its potential considering it's great cast (minus Gyllenhall's performance) and David Fincher's direction.