Bogged down thriller misses out on atmosphere due to "facts"

Rating: 5/10 (2 March 2007)

Disappointingly rote, a numbing excess to this strenuously factual crime drama, relaying mysterious events surrounding a decade-long search for California's Zodiac killer, proves opposite of the engaging, palpable thriller it aspires to. What could have been one of the more solid serial killer/police dramas to emerge in the past few years instead becomes a repetitious detective procedural, coming across like the non-fiction book it is based on, but without any of it's intended cinematic flair. Instead of seizing this moment to bring viewers back into the dangerously seductive cat-and-mouse direction that gave Se7en it's urgent heart, David Fincher opts to walk the straight and narrow here, rarely even taking much artistic license to tell the potentially engrossing story. Here moviegoers are walked through the entire epic investigation, portraying all sides involved in a mostly documented manner.
Admirable in it's objective ambitions, Fincher largely misses the entire point of making a movie like this for the silver screen and instead bogs the viewer down with unnecessary minutia; information that is certainly relevant to the plot's hunt for this elusive killer, but nonetheless will become entirely formulaic, leaving many viewers apathetic way too quickly. Perhaps if the ultra-objective script had it's actors trying to dress up some of the boring details they would have kept interest longer, but impressions during this lengthy film will sadly veer from cold to dull way too quickly and rarely come back to anything else. Any nuance evoked from a decent cast is immediately swept aside in favor of another bureaucratic endeavor.
Presenting the majority of developments in methodical, underwhelming snippets which belie any attempts at fluidity from the acting and directing department, the film begins to feel so detached, the irony of Zodiac becoming less involving the more information is revealed becomes prevalent. As an analysis of the legally inept cross-communications which plague law enforcement, a scope remains unfulfilled, making it difficult to justify much of the intent here. Certainly not a complete failure, Zodiac remains faithful to facts of this case to a fault, rarely touching upon the haunting period qualities the movie could have so effortlessly offered, seeing greater results.