Good film but unnecessary long

Rating: 6/10 (2 May 2012)

If you are expecting a good thriller with intensity like Se7en (from same director) then lose the expectations and you will probably enjoy this. This IS a good film, I would just not classify it as a thriller, but rather as a mystery case where people are trying to follow the complex and sometimes misleading clues. The film follows a cartoonist working at a newspaper who has a knack for puzzles and tries to find out who the legendary Zodiac killer is. Most of the killings happen at the beginning, with a couple more occurring in the middle of the film, and indeed there are some "thriller" moments, when the protagonist goes off by himself to search for clues in places he thinks the killer might be hiding or was there. However, I did find it unnecessary long. Maybe it was because of my expectations that I was going in to see a completely different film. On a second watching I did enjoy following through the protagonist's logic path and the portrayal of the suspect murderer is excellent. The plot is quite rigid, and you can't find a fault there. The only fault of this film was its length. When you watch something that doesn't really offer that much in sentiments (be it fear, adrenaline, happiness or anything else) you will probably be bored after the first 90 minutes pass. When that happens you stop following the plot and that damages the overall experience, because this film is solely relying on following through the plot and thinking along the protagonist.
So evaluating this film: good plot, good characters and portrayal of characters, excellent acting, but unnecessary long which makes me inclined to give it a 6/10. Granted some of the plot would suffer if the length was less, but the damage done to the viewer's attention span is much more of a serious issue for me.
My advice: relax and if you enjoy good detective stories and/or follow famous murder cases in history, you will probably enjoy this.