Crafty Thriller!

Rating: 8/10 (5 June 2013)

Zodiac is a well-made thriller that does what it's supposed to do: thrill people. What makes this David Fincher film a bit special compared to other thrillers is that it relies upon talk and emotions of the characters rather than action or gore. In that respect, this film reminds me of the baseball film, Moneyball which relied upon talk rather than action. Some people might find this boring, but it's well-acted and the crafty direction by Fincher makes this dark thriller work.
This film is based off the true story of how a cartoon drawer becomes obsessed with a series of murders by the "zodiac" killer in California and how he tries to solve the case despite not receiving any credible help from anyone.
As with most Fincher movies, this film is well-acted. Jake Gyllenhaal really absorbed me in as he tries to solve this case. He is an underrated actor. Mark Ruffalo who happens to be a great actor gives a great performance. Robert Downey Jr plays himself but can we really complain?
Overall, this is a gripping, absorbing tale about the gruesome murders that took place over a span of many years with only letters giving hints about the murders. Fincher does a great job toying with our beliefs. I noticed as soon as I set one character as a suspect, a new one would appear. I like when thrillers play with our minds. This film is a little long and perhaps somewhat slow but it is dark and has some Fincher-like twists. I rate this film 8/10.